Into the Dark: Revisited
by Smash King24
Summary: It has returned. The monsters. The blood. The massacre. It has come back to claim the lives of those who fought all those years ago. Relive the adventure! The horror! The great battle for Raccoon City! But whatever happens, don't get lost in the dark...
1. A Peaceful Midwestern Town in America

Into the Dark: Revisited

**Author's Note:** This is a remake of the first story I ever posted on the website. If you haven't read "Into the Dark" yet, then this is a great place to start. If you've already read the original before, please review and let me know if you like the changes I've added to the story. Thanks again for reading. Enjoy.

-

Chapter 1: A Peaceful Midwestern Town in America

"I'm impressed, Dana," said Professor Tiegs. "You're one of the few students here at the Raccoon City University who can maintain a straight 4.0 average in Bio-Chemistry. Tell me...what's your secret?"

Young Dana Komar looked up from her heavy text book at the professor and gave a small smirk.

"I moved here from Canada but almost a year ago," she replied. "The standards here in the States aren't as high as I thought they would be. No offense, but I've gone over all this stuff before on my last year of high school. Cell duplication...breeding...it's all review for me."

Dana looked back down at her book and continued reading where she had left off.

The study hall at the Raccoon University was quite empty for some reason. As a matter of fact, Dana seemed to be the only student who took the time to stay after dark. For her, Saturday night was just another time for relaxation and of course, studying.

Tiegs chuckled under his breath and began to walk to the other end of the table opposite to the first-year student.

"Ah, indeed," he said. "Well, even though I've only known you for so long, I can plainly see that you were destined for great things. Tell me, Dana Komar, what is it you plan to do once you get your degree, hm?"

Dana looked up again, the same smirk expressed on her lips.

"That's easy. I want to work for Umbrella Corporation," she responded without thinking.

She had been through this several times before. And after dozens of conversations with her father, as well as a few faculty members of the school, Dana was certain that she wanted to work for the greatest pharmaceutical enterprise on the planet: Umbrella. Of course, Umbrella didn't just accept anyone into their workforce, oh no, job spots in Umbrella were reserved for the best, the brightest, and of course, the most stubborn of students who dreamed big. Why, it was Umbrella that donated to charities in their hometown Raccoon City. Umbrella that made evolutionary breakthroughs in the fields of science and medicine. It was also Umbrella that caused one of the most fatal and illegal accidents in the history of mankind, but that was just a rumor used to scare little children.

Oh yes, Dana had heard about the rumors, the so-called "Zombies" that infested Raccoon City in 1998. Of course, she was but a mere child when it occurred so the little details were vague. And rumors are rumors, meaning that the vast population believes it, but nevertheless, it was just a hoax.

"Umbrella, eh?" asked Tiegs as he stopped and put a wrinkled hand to his chin. "That's not impossible. I could see you working for them without any problems at all. You have a lot of talent, Dana."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, I should be off now; it is getting late. Don't stay up too long now, you hear?"

Dana gave a silly salute.

"Will do, sir."

"Right. Take care then."

"Bye, sir!"

The professor wandered off out of the large study hall, leaving Dana all by her lonesome with nothing but the company of a reading lamp and a 12-pound text book. She decided to stay for another half hour, which would make her study period end at precisely 8:00 sharp. That would leave her just enough time to pack up, hurry home, and watch a good horror flick before the night moves on. And since it was a Saturday, it gave her all the more reason to stay up even later.

Unfortunately, she was only able to study for five more minutes after Tiegs left.

For when five minutes had passed by, Dana heard a scream.

The first-year jumped from her seat in surprise, dropping her book on the floor with a "Thump!" The sound of glass smashing echoed through the hall, followed by more screams. Dana hesitated to investigate the source of the cries, glancing at the exit leading into the night behind her.

However, her instincts got the best of her; she grabbed the text book, shoved it into her backpack, and ran into the hall. She could feel her heart pounding as she maneuvered through the halls of Raccoon University, glancing up and down the halls, turning back and forth at each corner, trying ever so desperately to locate whatever the hell had made that sound. The screaming and smashing continued, but was followed up with other sounds. She could hear metal slamming on metal, liquids crashing to tile floors, and something that sounded like tissue paper being torn apart rather loudly.

And the fact that she was completely alone as she ran through the halls made her heart jump all the more.

Eventually, she came across the science facilities on the east end of the school. One of the doors, a room labelled "Room 206," was barred shut by a chair. Dana made a move to remove the obstacle but jumped back with a cry when she noticed something appear in the small window on the door: someone was trying to get out.

"Help me please!" cried the female student on the other side as she kicked and slammed on the metal door.

Dana fell backward in shock, hitting the floor hard but barely even noticing it. She felt her temperature begin to drop as the sound of crashing and thrashing grew louder from behind the door.

"What...is this?..." she asked herself as she stared blankly at the girl struggling to break out.

Sadly, Dana didn't take into account that the chair was blocking the door from opening, leaving the other girl trapped in Room 206. But why did she look so scared?

Almost instantly, a large claw slashed at the girl's head, knocking her out of view and smearing a fresh stain of blood on the window. Dana screamed. She began to panic, picking herself up and dashing to the exit in the dark building. She didn't know what was going on or what that thing was, and she was in no hurry to find out.

* * *

"Game!"

The voice of the announcer boomed through the entire Battlefield. Captain Falcon stood on the left floating platform shaking of embers from his flaming fist.

"Show me your moves!" he taunted with a laugh.

Link, who had been watching patiently from the spectator's platform, frowned down at the racer disgusted. Solid Snake, on the other hand, just laughed.

"Ha! He got her good, didn't he?"

The mercenary shoved Link playfully in the side, but the Hylian did not react. He was too devastated--too ashamed--tat the F-Zero racer would pull off a cheap move like that.

Lucario, who was also standing next to Link, had his eyes focused on Falcon.

"_That was a low blow_," he thought to himself, "_using the Items to his advantage. Such a cowardly strategy._"

Captain Falcon began to blow kisses at the three spectators, causing Link and Lucario to turn their heads away. "Thank you my fans!" he said. "I hope to see you cheering me on at my next match!"

"Pretty clever to come up with a trick like that," commented Snake as he stroked his beard.

His statement caused Link's eyes to flare up with anger.

"What do you mean 'clever'? A move like that should be illegal!"

Unfortunately, it wasn't. Trapping your opponent with a Pitfall and then releasing a full-out Falcon Punch on them was perfectly legal in the game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was too bad Samus had to be the one on the wrong end of that Falcon Punch.

Soon, the spectator platform descended onto the Battlefield; Link was the first one to jump off and approach Falcon.

"You should be eliminated from the tournament!" he exclaimed seriously.

Captain Falcon jumped off his platform and landed in front of the green Hylian. He had a dull look on his face.

"Um, don't mind my asking, but...why?" he asked.

Link's eyes flared in anger again. How dare Falcon pretend he didn't know anything? How dare he pretend to act all innocent?

"You cheated!" accused the swordsman as he took a step towards the racer.

Snake grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back forcefully.

"Easy man, easy," he said.

Falcon chuckled at Link's accusation.

"Ha! Cheated? Me? Oh, Link, surely you must be mistaken," responded Falcon as he brushed his shoulder plate. "There is no way I, Captain Douglas J. Falcon, could ever cheat in a brawl. I have been a part of this organization for as long as you have, and not once in those past ten years have I ever been accused of cheating. You're just jealous."

Link raised a finger to say something, but was interrupted when a light shined in the middle of the stage.

Zero Suit Samus stepped out of the light frowning at her loss. She looked up and noticed her spectators standing on the stage. When he noticed Falcon, her eyes darkened.

"You..." she started. "I-"

All of a sudden, Master Hand appeared behind her.

"Great show!" he said, patting Samus on the back. "I saw the whole thing! This one is definitely going into the Replay Archives!"

While everyone else stared at the floating hand, Falcon just smiled.

"What?" asked Samus blankly, as if she was in disbelief.

Actually, she was in disbelief. How could Master Hand even consider keeping a recording of that humiliating match? Never in the history of the Smash Bros. had a recording of Samus losing gone into the Replay Archives. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to smash that F-Zero racer back to Mute City.

"It was a great match!" Master Hand continued. "Why, I just have to show this to the other brawlers! The newcomers sure could learn a thing or two from you, Falcon."

"Thank you, sir!"

Samus silently headed to the spectator platform Link, Snake and Lucario had used to get there. She did not make eye contact with anyone.

"Hey Samus!" cried Link. "Wait up!"

The Hylian and the bearded mercenary followed the blue bounty hunter onto the platform and it carried them away from the stage, back to the simulation room. The entire Battlefield, the floating platforms, the vegetation, the valley in the distance, all dissipated into air, revealing a small boxed room with white walls. The simulation had ended. The spectator platform moved to the door and the three Smashers left.

Link took one last glance at Falcon before moving on.

Master Hand looked through the giant window on the west wall in the square room.

"Did you get the whole thing, ROB?" he asked.

ROB the robot, who had been managing the stage simulation the whole time, nodded his head. He was in charge of all brawls that took place in the mansion. In the control room was where he was able to make the selections for the stage, Items, and other settings before the match began. Master Hand returned the gesture though the window and then headed to the door.

Lucario had his eyes closed and looked as if he were sleeping while standing up.

Falcon hesitated before asking, "Hey. You awake?"

Lucario opened his eyes.

"That was foul play back there," said the Aura Pokemon in a deep voice.

Even though he used telepathy to speak, Falcon could still hear him as clear as day.

"Hey, it's not my fault she doesn't know how to put up a fight against me," replied Falcon with a shrug. He brushed past the Pokemon and headed for the door. "You're next you know," he said without looking back.

"I know."

"You're up against...Snake was it? I wouldn't underestimate that guy. Master Hand hardly knows anything about him. And he claims to be an expert on 'the battlefield', whatever the hell that's supposed to mean."

Lucario stood there silently, closing his eyes again. He knew he had to remain focused. There was no way Falcon's words were going to disturb his train of thought.

"A little word or advice," started Falcon. Lucario's ears pricked, but otherwise he did not budge. "Don't use your Aura Sphere when you fight him. Snake has an entire arsenal of weapons at his disposal. Keep that in mind."

Lucario nodded, but Falcon didn't notice.

The F-Zero racer headed for the door, leaving the Pokemon all to his lonesome in the square room.

"I will win that fight, Falcon. And when I win this tournament, I'll put you in your place. Because unlike you...I don't need Items to win."

* * *

"Ugh! I can't believe I lost to that jerk!" Samus, Link, and Snake were walking through the Smash Mansion courtyard. It was the start of summer, June 13th to be precise. Birds were chirping in the trees. Flowers lay around them at their feet as the walked. But regardless of the positive romantic environment, Samus remained angry.

"It's okay, you tried your best," said Link trying to cheer her up.

Samus turned to him and smiled.

"You're sweet, but I still can't forgive what he did."

Snake turned to them both.

"I really don't see what the big deal is. All he did was Falcon Punch you. I mean, everyone loses now and then. Why are you getting so worked up over nothing?" he asked.

Samus stopped walking and sat down on a nearby stone bench. Link sat next to her while Snake remained standing in front of them, arms crossed. Samus looked down at the shining grass, dancing around her feet.

"You may not know this Snake, but Captain Falcon has caused me a lot of trouble in the past," she said.

Snake put on a serious face.

"What happened?"

Samus went silent for a moment. Link felt that he should hold her hand or put his arm around her, but he felt that she might just get mad again. She looked back up at Snake.

"Captain Falcon has been after me since before the beginning of Smash Bros."

Snake eyes widened a bit.

"He's been 'after you'? What, you mean he wants to-"

"Years ago," explained Samus, "we had a fight. It wasn't a regular fight like you see in the Smash Bros. No, Falcon and I...we actually went at each other's throats."

"Go on."

"This was way before I met Link or any of the others. Falcon and I were both bounty hunters. Rival bounty hunters. Both of us were top hunters in the day. Well, one day, coincidentally, we both received a new task: we were to hunt down a being called Tabuu."

"Tabuu?" asked Snake. "Wait, you don't mean-"

Samus nodded.

"Yes, that Tabuu. We found him organizing an invasion to Earth from one of the outer planets. Since Falcon and I were working for separate organizations at the time, we only wanted Tabuu's head for ourselves. But..." Samus clenched her fist. "But right when I could have had him...Falcon...he stopped me. He threw me don and told me to stop interfering with his mission. He then attempted to assassinate Tabuu on his own."

Snake hesitated before asking, "Then what?"

"Well, I couldn't just stand down and let him beat me. I got back up and shot him with my plasma cannon. Unfortunately, he retaliated and before I knew it, we were both fighting, attempting to kill each other. During that time, Tabuu took the opportunity to flee, taking all his plans and the army with him. Falcon and I returned home with nothing. And ever since then, he's always hated me. He blames me...for the invasion of Subspace. The-"

"The one that I was in," said Snake.

"Exactly. So, after that incident, I joined the Smash Bros. to help me become stronger. But, I never would have suspected Falcon would do the same thing. Now, he's always on my case, attempting to expose my flaws...he hates me."

"Wow, that's weird."

"To make things worse, when the first tournament started, Captain Falcon made it his one goal to be ahead of me," replied Samus. "I've beaten him in some matches, but whenever it's an important tourney or event match, he shows no mercy on me. He acts kind to all the other fighters...but me."

Link could see tears forming in her eyes.

"He doesn't care about me. He probably wants me to die! I went through two tournaments putting up with him and now in the final one, he goes and pulls off a move like that on me! I can't stand him!"

She turned to Link and began crying on his shoulder. He knew the pain she had gone through. He had been there to help her sometimes in Melee but whenever he wasn't there, Captain Falcon would bully her around like he had nothing better to do. What kind of guy picks on a girl anyway? Samus wasn't one to be broken easily either. She's taken on entire armies of aliens on her own. She was as strong as steel and as swift as a cheetah. Samus was the definition of 'cold blooded'. She could shoot the guts out of any monster life threw at her! But not Falcon. Definitely not him.

Link recalled a time in Melee during a three player tournament. It was a free-for-all on Princess Peach's Castle. Link, Samus and Captain Falcon were the combatants. Samus actually had some confidence knowing that Link would do anything to protect her from that creep. It didn't turn out that way. Link would never forgive himself for letting that slime ball hurt Samus that day. After he got Falcon Punched across the other side of the level, a Bullet Bill came down in the middle of the stage. Captain Falcon grabbed Samus and threw her into the bullet right as it exploded making her power suit almost disintegrate. After that, Captain Falcon finished off the Hylian, ending the match.

Link snapped out of the daydream when Samus let go of him and began sniffling.

"Here," he said, offering a handkerchief.

"Thank you."

She took it gratefully and blew her nose.

"Man, he sounds like a real jerk," said Snake calmly.

Samus put the handkerchief in her pocket.

"Now you know how I feel..."

Link felt pretty bad here sitting with her. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Hey, you want to go get something to eat?" he asked.

Samus paused, but then smiled at him.

"Sure."

Link smiled back. He just wanted to cheer her up after all the pain she had been through.

"What, you mean you want to go out?" asked Snake, who Link forgot was still standing in front of them.

"Uh, yeah, y'know just the three of us. Kind of a way to make Samus fell better."

"Aw, you don't have to do that for me."

"Trust me. I want to."

Snake looked across the courtyard. "So where do you want to go?" he asked.

Samus and Link thought for a moment.

"Somewhere far away from this place, like...America," suggested Link.

"Good idea," said Samus.

She got up and began walking out of the courtyard, away from the mansion. Link and Snake followed suit.

The trio went out to the parking lot in front of the Smash Mansion. Samus' orange starship was parked next to Fox's Arwing in the corner.

"Let's go, boys," she said about to board the ship.

She stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Link.

She didn't reply. His question was answered when he followed her gaze right to Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon racer. She still stared, a small grin appearing on her face.

"Wait Sam, you better not be thinking of what I think you are," said Link nervously.

She smiled menacingly. Link and Snake froze on the spot.

"_She wouldn't_," Link thought.

Samus hit the control panel on her wrist. Her power suit started to form and put together around her body. After some lights and buzzing sounds, Samus was in her complete power suit form. She opened a compartment on the side of her starship and a Smash Ball plopped out onto her hand.

At this point Snake realized what she was going to do.

"Heh heh," he chuckled.

Link was still frozen. He could not believe that she was actually going to do it. Samus squeezed the Smash Ball in her hand, shattering it to pieces. The sound of the breaking glass rung throughout Link's head. Samus was glowing a golden color and she was still smiling beneath the helmet.

"Here it comes," said Snake smiling.

"Oh, man," said Link quietly, incredulous to what he was seeing.

Samus aimed her arm cannon at the Blue Falcon.

"This is for what happened today!" she yelled as a huge pulsating, blue laser with a radius of 10 meters shot out of her cannon and completely obliterated Captain Falcon's prized vehicle.

The destruction lasted only 5 seconds, but that was enough time for the shredded piece of metal to be sent flying upwards towards the mansion. The power suit died away and Samus was back into her zero suit, this time panting after all the energy she had released. Snake and Link's gazes followed the car as it flew over 50 feet into the air and crashed straight down through the roof of the mansion greenhouse. The Hylian's mouth was nearly touching the ground. A loud crashing could be heard, as well as the sound of glass shattering and the scream of someone who was in the greenhouse.

Samus wasn't smiling anymore.

There was silence.

Then a loud voice came from the greenhouse.

"What the hell happened in here!? And what the fuck happened to my car?!"

Samus' smile returned to her knowing that she had done what she had always wanted to do. Link just stared at the mansion. The voice boomed again.

"I'm gonna kill whoever did this to my car!!"

"Time to go!" said Samus as she made a mad dash back into her ship.

"Hey hold on!" cried Link running behind her. Snake followed with a smirk.

Captain Falcon burst through the front doors of the mansion, instantly spotting Samus' ship preparing to take off. Some other brawlers crowded around him to see what was going on.

"You! I'll kill you!" Captain Falcon started sprinting towards the ship. By the time e had reached the end of the parking lot, the ship had already taken off. In a flash of light, Samus' ship shot into the sky, appearing as a small speck from the ground.

"Dammit!" yelled Captain Falcon at no one in particular.

He got on his knees and started punching the ground repeatedly. The other brawlers were still at the entrance to the mansion. Among them, Pit and Marth were conversing.

"Who do you think did that?" asked Pit.

Marth didn't even need time to think about this one.

"Samus. Definitely Samus."

* * *

The orange starship sped out of the planet's gravitational pull and started slowing down until it started orbiting the Earth. The sun shined brightly against the heavy armor plating. The ship's front window was impermeable to the suns hot rays.

Samus sat in the pilot's seat looking out toward the blue planet. Snake sat in the co-pilot seat while Link sat back at navigation, rapping his fingers on the desk nervously. He may be the Hero of Time and he may have saved Hyrule before, but the sudden turn of events had left him speechless.

This had been his first time in space save for Subspace Emissary, which wasn't necessarily outer space, but Subspace. This was also the first time he had been in Samus' starship. He looked around at his surroundings. The inside of Samus' ship was made up into four main parts.

There was the center room which was triangular shaped. It contained the entry beam as well as a rack that held weapons and extra armor. It was also very dark colored which contrasted with the ships outer colors.

The room which he and the others sat in was the main deck, which had four seats. One for the pilot and co-pilot, one for navigation and one for the main cannon on the front of the ship. Colorful buttons and gizmos lay before him but he made no move to touch them. He looked over at Snake who had his dirty boots mounted on the controls in front of him. Samus did not notice though because she was looking through the overhead compartment. The controls for the cannon sat idly opposite to Link. They were just as colorful as the ones in front of him.

The third room which made up the ship was toward the back on the left side. It contained a kitchen complete with a mini fridge, sink, and oven. Link guessed that she must have food stocked up in there incase she had to go on another bounty hunting mission or something like that. There was also a door which led into a mini bathroom that contained a toilet, shower and sink.

The last room was none other than Samus' quarters which were closed. He tried to imagine what she kept in there but couldn't come up with anything. Perhaps her power suit?

So, in a nutshell, Samus' ship was pretty small, but that's all the room she needed when she was traveling alone on Planet Zebes.

Regardless, Link knew how powerful this ship was considering that Samus had assaulted the entire Subspace army with it, along with Meta Knight's Halberd, Fox's Great Fox, Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer and Olimar's Rocket. He looked back at Samus who must have noticed Snake because his feet were now on the ground.

They were talking about something.

"So, now that we're out here, what do you plan on doing?" Snake asked Samus as he adjusted his head band.

"Well, all the maps I have stored here are for Zebes, nothing that we could use to get away from our stress," she said pointing to the maps.

"You mean _your_stress," replied Snake, cooly.

"If you want to go back I would be more than happy to chauffeur you. I'm sure Captain Falcon would welcome you back with warm arms after what we did to his car."

"You mean, what _you_did to his car."

Samus frowned then turned to the Hylian behind her.

"Link, what do you think?" she asked.

Link paused for a moment.

"Well?..." Snake edged on.

"Ugh...we shouldn't go back. Not after what we told you, Samus," replied Link. "We said we would go somewhere fun and that's what we'll do. Who cares if we don't have a map of where we're going. Let's just pick a spot and see where it takes us."

Link sat back in his seat and crossed his legs and arms.

Samus smiled.

"Alright. Sounds like a plan. Let me just get changed. I got a little roughed up today. Excuse me."

Samus got up and left the room. Link watched her leave before moving over to her seat.

It was still warm.

Snake looked down at his boots, which were still dirty. He relaxed himself. He didn't know what he was doing on the ship. Solid Snake joined the ranks of Brawl to get some practice into his daily training. Had he expected an invasion from the Subspace Army, he would never have joined. He as well as the other brawlers went through a lot of hell just to make sure their universe didn't get sucked into nothingness. They had managed to defeat Tabuu and restore peace to the world, but now, he didn't know what he was getting himself into.

Snake looked over at Link who was leaning on his hand, daydreaming.

"_Wonder what he's thinking about_..." Snake thought to himself.

He heard Link sigh for a moment. Snake looked over to the door Samus left then he looked back at Link who was still in a trance. The mercenary smirked again.

"Hey pretty-boy, what are you thinking about?" he asked.

Link was still daydreaming.

"Hey! I'm talkin' ta you!" Snake shouted.

Link snapped back into reality and almost fell out of his seat. He looked up at Snake in surprise.

"Oh, Snake, hey," he said getting comfortable in his seat again.

Snake eyed him from head to toe.

"_This is the great 'Hero of Time' I've heard about? He looks like a complete wimp!_" Snake thought to himself before saying, "So, um, what were you daydreaming about?"

Link stuttered.

"I...uh...I-I wasn't daydreaming! Um, I was thinking."

Snake wasn't satisfied.

"About?..."

"Um, nothing."

Snake raised an eye in confusion.

"So, you were thinking...about nothing?..."

Link hoped he would buy this.

"Um, yeah that's it."

Snake stared at the Hylian; Link was getting more nervous each passing second. He was sinking into his seat, forgetting about his Master Sword and Hylian Shield on his back.

Both of them went silent until Snake said, "Well that's totally understandable."

Link sighed in relief.

In actuality, Link had been thinking about Samus and how hard it must have been for her growing up. Even though they were best friends, Samus had never in her life told Link about her childhood, except for the fact that she was raised by Chozos...whatever the heck those were. He knew he shouldn't think about her because it made him act strange to the people around him.

The door behind them opened and Samus came out. This time she wasn't in her Zero Suit or her Power Suit. She was wearing a black t-shirt that had the screw attack emblem on the front of it as well as blue jeans with black running shoes. She wore a silver bracelet on her right wrist and a necklace with no gem on it. Her hair was done up in a pony-tail like normal.

Link did a double take at her when she came in because he had never seen her in casual clothes before. Snake wheeled around in the rotating chair and whistled.

"Looking good Samus," he said winking.

Samus smiled back.

"Thanks. So where are we heading?"

She looked over at Link who immediately reverted his gaze upon her.

"Ugh, the States, right?" he said.

"Alright then, let's go!"

She punched in some numbers (coordinates) on the pad in front of Link and the ship started moving towards Earth.

"Wait, where are we going?" asked Snake.

"You'll see."

The ship sped towards the planet at incredible sped. The outer plating of the ship kept it clean from any damage to it from friction or other particles in the air. Clouds could be seen moving past them through the main viewer. Link and Snake bounced around in their seat from the turbulence. Samus was standing but was not affected by this after having so much experience traveling around to galaxy.

Soon a city could be seen below them.

"What's that?" asked Link.

"That's our destination," replied Samus.

"A city? Cool," commented Snake as the ship sped closer and closer towards the ground.

Link got out of Samus' seat and made his way back over to navigation. Samus took control of the ship.

"I'll need to land near the outskirts so we don't attract attention of the locals," said Samus as she moved the ship towards a forest outside the city.

Link looked out the side viewer.

Dark clouds and mountains could be seen rising over the forest below. It was only 8:00 so it wasn't that dark out. But, for some reason, these mountains and clouds looked unusually dark. It was overcast so the sky couldn't even be seen. For a moment, Link could have sworn he heard gunfire coming from somewhere in the mountains. He shrugged it off thinking that it was his imagination after all the excitement...or was it?

Samus landed the ship in an opening in the forest. The ship hovered until it touched ground. All wild life around it scattered away. The bounty huntress turned off the main power.

"We're here."

Snake unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up to stretch. Link also stood up.

The Hylian's ears pricked at the sound of a female scream that echoed through his head.

"Do you hear that?" he asked the two.

Samus shook her head slowly.

"What's the matter, kid? Too scared to go out on a Saturday night?" Snake teased.

Link heard the scream die down before disappearing completely.

"Nevermind."

The three of them made their way to the central room where the lift brought them down to ground level. Link had left his sword, shield, bombs, and bow on board. He kept his boomerang and hookshot just in case. Snake left all his equipment on board. He did not think that they would be running into any trouble. Samus, of course, left her pistol on board as well.

They walked through the damp forest. City lights could been seen ahead of them. They moved onto the side of a road that went into the forest.

There were no cars.

"So, Sam, where exactly did you bring us?" asked Link.

Samus hesitated to reply.

"I honestly have no idea," she responded seriously.

Link gave a surprised look.

"Wait, then what were those numbers you were inputting on the ship?"

"I dunno. You said you wanted to visit America, so that's where I brought us. Look, there's a city just up ahead. We'll find answers there."

The trio made their way down the gloomy road. Trees and forest could be seen on both sides of them. Link thought he saw eyes peering out of the darkness, watching him.

Snake was ahead of the group. It was dark, so all Samus and Link could see was the shadowed figure of a tall man in front of them. Suddenly, Snake stopped with a flinch.

"Ow!" he cried.

Samus and Link both jumped at attention.

"Something hit me," said the mercenary, rubbing his sore nose. Samus walked around him and put her hand forward, feeling something cold.

"There's a sign here," she said.

Link folded his arms.

"Maybe we'll find out where we are."

Snake pulled out his pocket flashlight and shined it upwards to see a green road sign. All three of them read it over twice before heading again towards the city lights:

_Welcome to Raccoon City, home of the world famous Umbrella Corporation. Population: 10,000_.


	2. Enter the Survival Horror

Into the Dark: Revisited

Chapter 2: Enter the Survival Horror

Her eyes flooded with tears as she glanced left and right running through the bloody hallway. Students, professors and faculty members lay sprawled everywhere, piled on top of each other, leaned against walls, all red and dripping with their own blood. Bodies of Dana's beloved community covered the floor; she couldn't even see the tile below her feet due to the mass of crimson everywhere. She kept running and running, tears continuing to stream from her face. Screeching and howling could be heard; it was the sound of Satan's spawn coming for her.

Although she felt a bit faint, Dana refused to give up. She had caught a glimpse of one of the creatures slaughtering the students down one of the shorter halls. They were short, approximately 5 feet in height. The monsters were slouched, their skin a dark green but stained with human blood. They bore long scissor-like claws on their forearms, and had the uncanny ability to jump well over 10 feet in the air. Whatever these creatures were, Dana didn't want to have anything to do with them.

But they were coming for her.

She turned another dark corner to find one of the monsters slaying one of the professors on the spot. It swiped left and right, tearing Prof. Tiegs to ribbons, blood and guts spraying onto the wall. Poor Tiegs didn't even get a chance to cry out before his head was torn off. The green creature stood triumphant over its pray, but turned at attention when it heard Dana scream. The student quickly ran back, frantically trying to keep her balance. The monster galloped behind her, gaining speed every few meters.

"What's going on!? What's going on!?" Dana kept crying.

She didn't even get an answer because she soon found herself at a dead end in the hall. The monster, with viscous saliva oozing at the mouth, had her cornered.

"Please stop!" cried Dana, dropping her bag on the floor.

She backed up as far as she could until her back hit the metallic wall. The creature crept closer to her, ignoring her pleas.

Suddenly, it sprang up into the air, its claws sharpened and stained, ready to strike.

"Look out!"

A swift shadow came from the side and pulled Dana out of the way just as the monster was about to land its attack. The claws collided with the wall and stuck, leaving the creature immobilized.

The young man who had saved the girl's life pulled her away from the creature and down the hall.

"Keep running! Don't look back!" said the man as he tugged on Dana's hand.

Dana could barely comprehend what was going on. She felt shaky and limp, as if all her energy had been sucked away.

The monster that had missed with its attack was still struggling to break away from the wall.

The stranger guided the student to one of the side exits and let her go to catch her breath.

"That was close," said the man, putting a cold hand on Dana's shoulder.

Dana tried to wipe away her tears, but instead felt herself putting her arms around her savior.

"Thank you!" she cried. "Thank you so much!"

She was crying again.

The stranger hugged her back.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'll protect you," he replied.

"T-There was blood! A-And bodies! I-"

"Shh. I know. There was an accident in one of the science facilities. I'm not sure how it happened, but I know for a fact that those monsters spawned from there. They were being bred."

Dana broke free and attempted to wipe her face again.

"I-I'm sorry if-"

"Don't worry about it," interrupted the man. "Right now we need to get out of here. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael Syvone. I've been a resident of this city for less than half a month. I'm a doctor."

Dana looked back down the hall at the mess of blood and guts strewn about, causing her to stomach to churn.

"M-My name is Dana. Dana Komar. Um, thanks again for saving me."

"Don't mention it. I was surprised I managed to run into anyone in this building. I mean, after what I found outside..."

Mike's words trailed off, causing Dana to shiver in fear.

"What did you find...outside?" she asked.

Mike turned to the door and looked out the window into the city night. The road was cracked and smeared with blood. Street lights from up and down the block lay fallen among the wasteland. Police cruisers, semi trucks, vehicles of all kind were turned upside down, on fire, or reduced to charred pieces of scrap metal. A few buildings on the other side of the street were on fire as well. Bodies dressed in police armor, green uniform, and casual clothing littered the area.

It was like something out of a nightmare.

"That green creature you just saw," said Mike, clenching his fists. "There's dozens of them roaming the city streets. And that's not all. There are people outside on the sidewalks who aren't...people..."

People who weren't people? What did he mean by that? And what the hell was going on with this city?

"Dana, we need to get out of here," said the doctor, turning to the girl. "I don't know how, but some way, we have to leave. This city is too dangerous for anyone to be around."

* * *

Link, Samus and Snake walked silently down main street. The lights, which they had seen outside to city, just happened to be fire. Flames crawled upon turned over vehicles, street signs and some buildings and structures. "POLICE DO NOT CROSS" signs lay scattered all over the road as well as barricades--barb wire fencing and metal plating--that had been completely destroyed. Down-town Raccoon City had turned into a war zone. Bodies lay mangled and decapitated all around them, on cars, on the road, and hanging out of windows. Some corpses even had intestines drooping out of them. Just what happened here?

The smell of smoke and death lingered throughout the air and pinched at Samus' nose. Never in her life had she smelled something so vile. She wrapped her arms around herself to escape the cold, regardless of the flame's dead heat. This city was torn apart. Link had no words to say. Everywhere he looked he saw crimson on the ground, or weapons sitting idly with no masters; a shiver slithered up his spine.

The three continued to walk silently through the carnage. Even Solid Snake, who had witnessed a lot of death on the battlefield, was awe-struck by the scene he was witnessing. For among the dead bodies, not only were there adults, but children. Small, innocent bodies littered the area in front of what looked like a school. Past that were a few general stores on either side of the street, again with more bodies lying around.

Samus wanted to throw up.

The only death she had ever seen was that of the alien scum she blasted with her cannon. These weren't aliens, though. These were humans. Humans that had lives. Humans that laughed. That played. That could change the world. But not anymore...because they were dead.

They stopped at a four-way intersection to see a pile of cars that seemed to have collided with each other. Dead, bleeding bodies lay among the wreckage, as well as the horrifying faces of the unfortunate victims. The blank eyes stared right into Samus', but she turned away. Her sight then gazed upon what had once been a family restaurant. They were still now. Windows were broken, merchandise stolen or destroyed, bloodstained walls and counters.

Samus looked in the only direction she had left, which was directly at Link. The Hylian gave her an unsure look, which she returned. He took another quick scan of the area.

Something was wrong with this city.

"_Maybe that gun shot __I__ heard __earlier __has something to do with this_," Link thought, "_or maybe that scream_..."

As the three continued past the wreckage, Link's Hylian ears picked up a scratching sound. He twitched and turned to where the sound was coming from. The shadowed figure of a man stood in an alley way silently, watching him, realizing that the strange boy in green had noticed his presence. Link blinked twice and lost sight of the figure. The man was gone.

"_Was he following us the whole time?_" he thought again.

Suddenly, a wet piece of paper flew up in the wind and smacked Snake in the face.

"Hey!" he cried as he pulled the sheet from his mug and examined the fine print.

It was a newspaper labelled "The Raccoon City Times." Samus eyed it too. Unfortunately, Snake was the only one tough enough to speak without throwing up, first.

"'Three More Mysteriously Murdered'," he said as he read the front headline.

Link looked over his shoulder to see if the shadowed man was there.

Nothing.

The Hylian turned to his friends.

"I have a bad feeling about this place," he said nervously.

Samus nodded instead of making a verbal reply; she was too afraid. Too afraid to speak with all these empty eyes watching her every move.

This was supposed to be a fun night out.

But this was anything but fun right now.

This was horror in pure form.

Snake continued to read:

"Two unidentified men and one woman were found dead in the basement of their home last night. The identities are unknown as the bodies were so horribly mutilated by the attackers. Judging by the large mess of storage containers in the basement, the victims were assumed to have barricaded themselves in from their attackers before being torn apart and eaten alive. This event brings the total number of victims of these mysterious 'chain murders' up to 26. 'We're doing our best to find the murderers behind these killings,' says R.P.D. chief Brian Irons." Snake paused. "The rest is illegible."

"What's the date of that newspaper?" asked Samus, her arms now down at her side.

Snake's eyes went wide as he read the fine print.

"June 13, 2008," he read slowly before dropping the paper on the ground.

"Okay, that's it. We gotta get out of here," Link said looking around.

"Agreed," replied Samus. "Let's go."

They turned around instantly but stopped upon seeing a young woman, probably in her 20's hunched over, staring at them. The three paused for a second.

"Are...are you you all right, ma'am?" Snake asked, cautiously walking towards her.

Samus and Link stayed behind at a safe distance. There was something wrong with this woman, but neither Samus, nor Link could get a grasp of what it was.

"Careful, Snake," Samus called ahead to her friend.

The mercenary did not turn around, but gave a wave to show that he heard her. He continued up to the woman until they were at a reasonable distance to talk normally.

"Can I help you, miss?" Snake asked again.

The woman was pale, and she was wearing a bloodstained, white night gown that was torn in the top right shoulder. Her brown, red-stained hair was a mess and she had a lot of blood on her hands and neck area. Snake took another step towards her. He could hear her heavy breathing from where he stood.

"Ma'am?"

The woman quickly ran with her bare feet up to Snake and grabbed his arm. Snake flinched at the sight of the woman's bleeding face.

"Please! You must help me!" she pleaded.

Snake quickly shook her off and took a few steps back.

"What happened to you?" he asked, looking at the blood stain on his right arm.

"They came! They killed everyone! They are the murderers!" she screamed stumbling closer to Snake.

For every step she took, the cautious mercenary took a step back.

"Who?" he asked, looking at the woman directly in the eyes.

"The-" she stopped. She fell to her knees, then forward onto her face.

Snake froze.

"She's dead," he muttered slowly. Snake turned to his companions. "She just keeled over. I didn't touch her."

Link and Samus ran up to him.

"Snake, there was something wrong with that woman," Link said looking up at the tall man.

Snake gave an angered look.

"Well no shit! What else did you find out, 'Captain Obvious'? That the entire city has gone to hell? What about the fires over there? They look pretty suspicious if you ask m-"

"Snake behind you!" Samus screamed.

Snake did a backwards kick and hit someone who was standing behind him. The body flew at least 15 metres before hitting the pavement. He winced.

"What was it?" he asked, staring at the body he just beat.

Samus took a step back.

"It was that woman who you said was dead," she said.

"What? How can that be? She fell over right in front of me. There's no way she could have got up after seeing the wounds on her body...or could she?"

Snake continued to stare at the body.

Link took another look around him. He was hearing more sounds, this time coming from all over the place. Moaning.

"Guys, we really gotta get out of here," Link said still looking around.

Snake didn't move.

"Is she...getting up?" he asked quietly.

Indeed, the woman was getting up off the ground. This time, her face was turning a brownish-green colour, and her teeth had started turning yellow. Her face had an indent in the middle where Snake kicked and she was all deformed. She started stumbling towards the three again, making moaning sounds, similar to the ones Link was hearing. All three of them flinched.

"What...is that thing?" Samus asked moving closer to her two larger comrades.

Snake was still staring at the creature moving towards him.

"I...I don't know," he replied slowly.

The woman had fallen over a stray car tire and was pulling herself back up.

Link shoved his way to the front of the group, hookshot at hand. He aimed his weapon at the woman.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" he shouted at the creature.

The woman ignored his words and continued approaching him, blood and saliva oozing at the lips.

Link had seen something like this before.

Back when Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule, he had infested Castle Town with Redeads. This woman looked almost like a Redead, except his gaze upon her eyes did not make him freeze in terror. He remembered that Redeads could be stunned momentarily if they heard the Sun's Song, a song that granted the power of the Sun. Unfortunately, Link did not have his ocarina with him so he had to think of a new plan. If this woman would not stop her assault, he would have no choice but to unleash his hookshot.

She was closer now, within 10 metres at the most. That was more than enough distance his weapon would cover. But would it work on this creature? There was only one way to find out.

"Sorry I have to do this," muttered the Hylian, aiming the hookshot at the woman's head.

She put out her arms in an attempt to lunge and grab the three.

Link fired his weapon. It made a clicking sound as the chains hit each other. The hook end met with the creature's face, creating a giant hole right where the eyes and nose used to be. Link gasped.

"That's never happened before," he said softly.

The creature fell to the pavement, this time dead for sure as the hookshot retracted. Snake and Samus also gave surprised looks.

"Shit, I didn't even consider that thing to be a weapon..." mumbled Snake.

"I didn't know it could do that," said Samus, staring at Link's weapon, which had been soaked with blood and brain matter.

"I never really tried to use it that way," he replied.

The distant moaning sounds drawing closer reminded Link of their objective.

"Let's get back to the ship," he said, quickly holstering his weapon.

The three of them ran their way back up the street they took to enter. Gunshots could be heard, as well as screams from the poor citizens. Although they couldn't see anything, the three Smashers knew for certain that the city had been infested with monsters. The moaning grew louder and louder with each passing step. It was demonic.

"That woman back there," said Samus, running alongside her companions, "you don't think there's more of them, do you?"

Snake didn't hesitate to answer.

"Judging by the look of the city, I'd say there's more than 100 of those things running around. Their probably the ones responsible for these murders."

"Let's just get back to the mansion. This is not our problem to deal with," Link said before stopping. "But that is."

He pointed to a creature on the other side of the road similar to the woman except it had a male build. It was attempting to claw at a police officer in a narrow alley.

"We have to help him!" Link called to the others as he ran to assist the cop.

Samus tried to get him back.

"Stop! You'll be killed! Who knows what those things will do to you!" she cried.

Snake stood next to her.

"He's letting the whole 'hero' thing get to his head..." he responded, rolling his eyes.

The cop was a fat man who had dropped his gun on the road and was fighting a humanoid creature with his night stick. The creature stood about a foot taller than the cop. Brown skin was peeling off it's face and the leather jacket it wore was also slowly wearing away as well.

"No! Stop!" cried the cop, as the creature managed to get it's cold hands around the man's neck and bite into it with all its might. The cop cried in agony as blood spurted from his mouth. The night stick fell into a cold puddle of blood at his feet.

Link arrived too late but just in time to witness this horrifying scene. The creature that had once been human was eating away at the police officer who had once been alive. The Hylian froze on the spot.

"Just..what are you?" he asked.

The creature stood up and lunged at Link. He was too slow to react as the monster fell on top of him, trying to bite at his veins. Link was holding it back with his hands, but the force of gravity was not agreeing with him.

"Help!" Link cried to his comrades who he hoped didn't abandon him.

Suddenly, he felt the weight of the creature being lifted off his body. The creature flew across the street and landed through the windshield of a parked car.

Snake stood above Link, offering his hand.

"You idiot! You should know better than to charge at enemies like that!" Snake lectured the young Hylian. "Had it not been for me you would probably be missing a limb or two by now!"

Samus came up behind him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Link grabbed Snake's hand and pulled himself up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Man, that thing stank."

Link grabbed his stomach. He quickly ran into the alley, past the dead cop and started puking in a dumpster. Samus followed him.

"Link, are you sure your fine?" she asked again.

Link's face was a sickly pale.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. I just need some time to- Samus watch out!"

The cop was behind her, the same dead look in his eyes that Link saw in the creature that had attacked him. This officer was now one of 'them.' Samus didn't have time to react before she heard the sound of a neck cracking. She turned around to see Snake standing before her, dusting off his hands. The cop lay on the ground, his head perpendicular to his neck. She looked up at Snake in the eyes.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"Ah, don't mention it. Actually, that's twice I've saved both of your lives'. You guys owe me big time," replied Snake sarcastically.

"Very funny. Now let's get out of here before I puke my own intestines," responded Samus, turning to Link who's face had returned to its normal color.

As the three left the alley way and moved up the street, Link noticed the figure of the shadowed man next to a broken street light. He moved uneasily with the rest of the group.

"_Maybe he'll leave us alone if we ignore him_..." he thought.

They continued running at a simple pace until they were halted by what seemed like a wall of moving bodies. Up ahead of them stumbled about twenty or so of the humanoid monsters they had encountered earlier that night. These ones varied in different shapes and sizes.

"Shit, there's more of 'em," cursed Snake under his breath.

"We can't fight that many of them. We'll have to go back," Samus said nervously looking behind her.

"We can't do that. We'll only end up getting more trapped in the city."

Link looked for a building they could take cover in.

All of the surrounding buildings had windows broken, doors on the ground and blood on the walls. Link took a few steps back before noticing a bar that seemed to be intact. The neon light's glowed above the front window that did not seem to be broken at all. The sign read "Johnny B's Bar." The Hylian looked toward the approaching creatures before making a mad dash for the bar.

"This way! Inside here!" he called to his friends who had just noticed him leaving.

"Wait for us!" Samus cried, tailing Link followed by Solid Snake.

Link banged his fists against the red, wooden door.

"Open up! Get us out of here!" he called.

No answer.

Link tried again, banging louder, but no one came to the door.

"Out of my way!" bellowed Snake.

The mercenary shoved past Link and rammed the door with all his might. The door collapsed instantly and the inside of the bar was revealed.

"Get back you fiends!" cried an unfamiliar voice from inside.

Snake, Samus and Link looked for the source of the sound. A bartender stood behind the counter facing the door with a double-barrelled shotgun aimed at Snake's chest.

"I'm warning you!" the bartender barked.

He was a tall, thin man with glasses. He wore a white apron around his waste and a black vest with a gold badge over his heart that read "Manager." He must have been the cleanest person the trio had seen all night.

Snake put his hands up over his head; Samus and Link followed suit.

"Whoa! Whoa buddy! Do we look dangerous to you?" he asked.

The armed man wasn't convinced.

"You are dressed in funny-looking clothes. You could be a different kind of monster that I haven't seen yet!" replied the bartender as he clicked off the safety of his weapon.

"Buddy! We're not fucking monsters! What do I need to do to convince you? Take my shirt off?"

Snake took a step towards the man. He still held up his gun with no reply.

"Hey, those things are still outside, you know?" Link said aloud, wondering why no one was doing anything about it.

The bartender lowered his weapon. The other three lowered their arms at the same time as well.

"I'm sorry. It's just that...it's been so long since I've seen real people that I've already forgotten that difference between them and those zombies.

"It's not that hard to see the difference! Just look at our skin for God's sake!" Snake yelled, unaware of the mob approaching the building outside.

"Wait, what do you mean zombies?" Samus asked.

"Those things-" the bartender started but was cut off when he heard the cold groan of a visible zombie outside. "You three! Back here with me!" the man shouted.

Link and Samus nodded to each other as they and Snake crouched down behind the counter with the bartender. The bartender grabbed a Magnum that was under the bar.

"Any of you know how to use one of these?" he asked showing the weapon to the three for them to see.

"I do," Samus and Snake said at the same time.

"You seem like an able-bodied man to me, sir," the bartender said, giving Snake the gun. "You have ten shots there and three extras under the counter if you need them. Don't waste my ammo. Aim for the head."

"_Wait, we're going to fight these things?_" Link thought to himself.

"You there! Fairy-boy!"

Link jumped at the sound of the bartender's voice. He had not heard anyone call him by that nickname since his glory days back in Hyrule. Yes, he missed those days travelling around with Epona. Ah, the memories. But what was it that made the bartender call Link "Fairy-boy?" The ears? The tunic? The hat and tights? If only Navi was there...

"If things get too crowded in here," the bartender continued, "use this". The bartender tossed the Hylian a Molotov cocktail, assuming Link knew how to use it. Link caught it examining the glass bottle with the paper stuffed in it. What was this thing exactly? Samus started nervously.

"Um, sir, are you sure we'll be able to take on all these things?"

The bartender frowned at her.

"You kids are the ones who led them into my establishment. There's no way you're squirming out of this one," he replied.

That wasn't the answer Samus was expecting, but she went with it.

"Can we at least get your name?" she asked.

The man looked towards the front door at a zombie that had stupidly stumbled inside.

"The name's John, little missy."

He fired a round into the face of the approaching zombie making it's head explode and brain matter fly in all directions. Luckily, the survivors were far enough away not to get showered.

"I'm Samus, this is Link, and this is Snake."

John looked through the door to see more of those dead-heads climbing over each other just to get in.

"Let's worry about introductions later. These guys are going to be tough to beat," he responded.

Link clutched the fire-bomb in his hands, wondering if he should help with his hookshot. Snake fired three rounds from the magnum, instantly taking the heads off three of the attackers.

"Nice shot!" said John as he blasted a hole through the chest of a zombie, then proceeding with obliterating his head.

"Thanks," replied Snake, killing another one by hitting right in the left eye.

Most of the zombies that had followed them in were in the bar now. There were a lot of them; More than there had been estimated at first. As more monsters began to eat more bullets, Snake was down to two shots with the three still in reserve. John had 6 shells loaded into his gun with 12 in reserve.

They were running out of ammo.

"Dammit! They just keep coming!" Snake cursed.

The stress was making him miss his shots. He shot a zombie in the chest accidentally making it collapse, but it got up just 5 seconds later and continued it's assault with it's "brothers."

"Use the Molotov cocktail now, boy!" yelled John as he blasted a zombie at point-blank range.

Link stared at the bottled weapon in his hand.

"How do I use this thing!?" he asked.

He saw a zombie hand in front of his face as one of the monsters made an attempt to climb over the counter.

"Throw it! Now!"

Samus kicked the face of the zombie that had tried to grab Link in the face, knocking it back a few feet into it's comrades.

"Link!" she cried.

Link stood up over the counter and hesitated. He had not seen the battle going on around him because he had been hiding behind the counter the whole time. The blood and guts on the walls almost made him puke. The stench wasn't pretty either.

He chucked his bottle into the centre of a group of moving creatures. The bottle exploded and the entire group of about seven zombies were engulfed in a mass of flame.

"Nice work, boy!" John called to the Hylian.

This, however, did not keep the monsters from coming closer.

"We have to fall back!" Snake yelled over the sound of gunfire and groaning. He grabbed the extra ammo and dashed to the back door. "Dammit! The doorknob's busted!"

Snake then proceeded to kick the door down in one strike. The empty frame led to a dark alley way filled with dumpsters and trash bags filled to the max.

"Out here! Move!" he shouted.

Link and Samus ran out the door followed by John covering the rear. The monsters had now all started making their way over the counter or around it. This obstacle managed to slow them down, but it only made them more hungry each passing second. The survivors ran out into the street. Fortunately, all the zombies that had covered this block were crammed inside the bar.

"They must all be still inside," said Samus, gasping for breath after enduring that gory battle.

Snake reloaded his gun with what bullets he had left.

"I'm almost out," he said embarrassed.

A military tactician like him should have known better than to waste such a powerful gun on weaker enemies. Had he had his equipment on him, that battle would have ended a lot differently. He would have easily been able to destroy all the zombies with a few grenades.

"We have to get back to the ship!" said Samus, scanning the street.

John was trying to clean the blood off his glasses with his stained apron.

"Wait, you guys have a ship? How can that be? There isn't a port around here for miles."

"Our ship can fly," replied Samus plainly.

"Your ship flies? Really? What luck! Let's get there now while we have time!"

Samus stared at the cracked cement below her feet.

"We can't. Those things blocked us off from the route we were going to take to get there. The ship is on the outskirts of the city in a forest," she said.

"The forest? That's close by! It's just up ahead there," said John pointing a bloody finger up the street. They turned to look, but they did not see a forest.

A creature with a wide build was limping down the street towards the survivors. None of them said anything.


	3. A Night to Remember

Into the Dark: Revisited

Chapter 3: A Night to Remember

-

"Ada, why are you hesitating? You've been in the city for over an hour now and still you've shown me no progress."

Ms. Wong grimaced at the sound of her superior's sinister voice. She brought the radio away from her face for a few seconds before replying.

"I'm well aware of that, Wesker," she replied, taking cover behind a pile of fallen garbage cans. She pulled her large black coat around herself for camouflage. "I can't advance as quickly as normal because of all the viruses running around. With each passing second, it's becoming more and more difficult to maneuver around the city."

"That's no excuse," said Wesker irritatedly. "You know as well as I do that your mission is vital to the extinction of the Los Illuminados. Find out where they are hiding. Inform me if you learn anything significant. And don't get yourself killed."

Ada rolled her eyes.

"_Thanks for the tip_," she thought sarcastically.

"I understand," she responded. "I'll try not to waste any more time."

"Very good. The plans for Uroburos are almost complete. All that stands in my way now is the accidental outbreak. See to it that this mess is cleared up."

"Understood. Ada out."

Ada clipped the radio to her belt and took out her mini binoculars. She quickly scanned the city street for monsters. She especially made sure not to take her eyes away from the strange-looking-people in the middle of the road. She didn't quite know who they were exactly, but something about them didn't seem normal. She pocketed the binoculars and pulled out her radio again.

"Ivan. Come in, Ivan. Do you read me?" she asked, her eyes focused on the pointy-eared boy in green.

"Ah, Ms. Ada Wong. How nice of you to call," replied a male voice from the other end. "Is there a problem?"

"No," replied Ada. "No, there's no problem. I just have a question. Did you send in any support troops?"

Ivan paused momentarily before replying.

"I did, as a matter of fact. Unfortunately, I lost contact with the squad of shock troopers I dispatched earlier. I fear that they may have already fallen to the virus."

"Just one squad?"

"Yes."

"Then...who are these people I'm seeing right now?" Ada clicked a button on her shades and focused on the group of 'strange-looking-people.' "I'm sending you live video feed right now," she explained. "Do you recognize any of them?"

There was another pause from Ivan's end as he studied the four survivors. Two of them, a male and female, seemed like regular citizens. The male was wearing what appeared to be a blood-stained apron while the woman bore a strange lightning bolt emblem on her shirt.

The other two in the group however did not look like regular residents at first glance.

One of them, the taller one, was wearing what looked like a blue military tactical vest. He had freshly toned muscles and a thick beard on his chin. He could have possibly been a government spy. The stranger next to him was wearing some sort of green Halloween costume. He had pointed ears and wavy blonde hair, surely a much younger age than the bearded mercenary.

"Hmm," said Ivan's voice. "I don't know any of those people. The ones in green and blue look especially suspicious..."

Ada pressed the button on her glasses again to cut the video feed.

"You don't suppose they're with the Illuminados, do you?" she asked.

"Not likely," replied Ivan. "If they were, they wouldn't be wearing such casual, or strange, attire. My guess is that they're agents sent by the government to expose our intentions. But don't trust me completely on this one. In any case, these people may be a key to locating the whereabouts of the Los Illuminados. Follow them, and make sure you don't get seen."

"Roger that."

* * *

Samus took a step towards the slow-moving creature, but was stopped by Snake's strong hand.

"Hold your ground," he said. "Let's see what we're dealing with here..."

The limping figure moved under a street light--the only one on the block that was intact--and its features started to become clear. The creature had two human heads, one that was male, the other female. It also appeared to have four legs, but two of them seemed to be dragging along. Moaning could also be heard.

A lone zombie started approaching the two-headed creature from behind.

"What is that?" Link spoke above the sound.

John's eyes got wide.

"They're human! Survivors! We must help them!" he cried.

John dashed to the four legged creature, shotgun at ready. Samus winced her eyes.

"They are human!" she said. "Two of them!"

Indeed, the creature that appeared to possess two heads and four legs were actually two separate beings. One of them was a young man in his late 20's, wearing a brown, bloodstained jacket and black pants. He was also wearing black dress shoes and wore a shiny, silver, analog watch on his left hand. His companion, the woman, was younger but no doubt in her 20's as well. She wore a white t-shirt with the University of Raccoon city emblem on it in blue. She wore blue jeans and dirty running shoes. Her hair was loose and all over the place. The most noticing and disturbing feature about this girl was the fact that she had a large bite mark on her right shoulder and it was bleeding uncontrollably.

Upon realizing that the creature was really human, the survivors made their way over to them. A lone zombie that had been following the weakened civilians soon had its head blown off by John's weapon.

"Please! You must help me save her!" said the man in brown as he kneeled over his wounded companion. She was breathing heavily and her skin was turning a sickly pale. "We need to act quickly or else she'll become one of them!"

John knelt down next to him and checked out the wound.

"It's deep. Is there a cure for this?" he asked seriously.

The man eyed the bloody bartender up and down before saying, "There is, but we mustn't waste any time. I need a blue herb, stat!"

Link and Samus looked puzzled.

"Blue herb?" Samus asked.

The man turned to Samus and Link with an awkward expression on his face, as if he didn't believe they didn't know what a Blue Herb was. But how can anyone not know what a Blue Herb is? They are only one of the most common vegetation in Raccoon City! His mental question was answered when he saw Link's clothes.

"Ah, foreigners. Just great..." the man said rolling his eyes.

John immediately got up and hopped over the window of a nearby convenience store to find the medicine. The others sat there silently. The man looked down at his female friend who had started coughing up blood. He quickly grabbed an already bloody handkerchief from his pocket and started cleaning it off.

Link watched the man work. He could tell that he cared about the girl very much.

"Who are you?" Link asked.

The man looked up at the Hylian.

"My name is Michael Syvone," he said plainly. "I'm a doctor."

He turned back to his friend and started cleaning the blood again.

Link was reminded of his environment. Cars lay around on the street, broken or burnt to ash. A fire hydrant had been knocked over by a semi-truck and water was spurting out of the ground, washing the blood and organs of previously killed zombies down the sewers.

He quickly turned to the alley from where they emerged from. Could those monsters somehow track them? Did they have a superior sense of smell? Why did they want to eat the living? Where did they come from? He felt that he couldn't leave the city until these questions were answered.

And to think that just this morning he was at home with his friends...

Link's eyes opened wide. He had just remembered...the tournament! What time was it? Was there still time to make it back to the mansion to start his match with Fox? What about Snake? He had missed his match a while ago. Does this mean they'll be eliminated from the tournament? Would that even be a legal win? What would Master Hand say if he found out where they had been and what they were doing?

The stress started to pile onto Link's mind.

He snapped out of it when he noticed John emerging from the store with a handful of blue plants in his arms. His shotgun was strapped to his back. Snake stroked his beard and pretended to ignore him by looking around in case of more zombies.

"Here, I grabbed all I could carry," said John, setting the herbs next Mike.

"Thank you! She may have a chance at survival now!" replied Mike gratefully.

Samus moved next to Snake. She could not bare to see this woman's open wound any more.

"This should stop the virus from spreading throughout her body for good," said Mike as he broke the herbs into tiny bits and covered the wound with it. The girl flinched at the sting of the herbs taking effect. "Shh, calm down, you'll be okay."

Once the herbs had completely covered the red with blue, Mike reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out an Umbrella certified can of First Aid Spray. A pricey drug indeed. He proceeded with spraying the wound with the green spray. The pain stung so much that John had to hold down the girl's legs. With the medicine quickly taking effect, Mike finished his job by ripping out a piece of his inside shirt and wrapped the 'bandage' around the girl's shoulder.

"There, it's done," he said with relief.

The girl relaxed from the stress and did not move. Silence. A cold wind blew over the group, the fire's near them providing absolutely no heat.

Link thought he saw the shadow of the tall man through the corner of his eye. He ignored it.

The girl stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Where...am I?" she said slowly.

Mike looked as though he were about to cry. She sat up, staring at the strange people around her before noticing Mike.

"Mike...?"

Mike immediately hugged her tightly.

"Dana, I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, tears running down his face.

Snake rolled his eyes.

"How touching," he muttered before noticing a large group of zombies coming up the road towards them. He took a step back. "They followed us from the bar!"

Everyone turned their attention to the approaching mob.

"So, it wasn't a dream..." Dana said to herself in terror, recalling what happened at the University.

"We gotta go!" cried John, scooping up some of the left over blue herb and shoving it in his pocket.

Mike helped Dana up and the six of them ran as fast as they could up the road. They stopped only to be ambushed by another mob of zombies. These ones were all short though. A school of children no doubt.

"We're trapped!" said Samus looking in both directions at the monsters.

Link closed his eyes.

"_Come on, think of something__!_..." he thought before opening them to see the shadow man standing in a nearby alleyway. "_Him again?_" thought Link blankly. The shadowed figure pointed a finger straight up in the air. Link looked up to see that he was pointing at the antenna on top of a nearby coffee shop. Link looked back at the man, but somehow, he had mysteriously vanished. "_What was he trying to tell me?_" Link thought again.

The idea hit him like a brick.

If they couldn't outrun the zombies, they could out-climb them instead.

Snake swore out loud but Link ignored it. He pulled out his hookshot and ran to the front of the coffee shop, aiming it at the roof antenna two stories high. With a number of clicks, the hook end shot the chain up until it struck the antenna securely. Link tugged the weapon to make sure it was taut.

"Quickly! Everyone up here!" he called to his fellow survivors.

They all gathered around him, the zombies less than 50 feet away. More humanoid monsters began to approach from the other end of the street, blocking the survivors off from every path.

Link's heroic instincts kicked in.

"Okay! One by one you guys are going to climb up this thing until you reach the roof. Samus, you first," he said.

Mike interrupted.

"Wait! Let Dana go first! She's the wounded one," he replied.

Link felt a sweat drop on his nose.

"Can she climb by herself?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Let's do this," she said.

She grabbed the chain and started pulling herself up, her feet wrapped around and sliding up smoothly.

"I don't know how much weight this thing can take. We'll have to go one at a time," Link said, tugging the chain tight.

"One at a time?" asked Mike. "There's no time for that! We'll all be killed by the time two of us get up there!"

Doctor or no doctor, he wasn't making the situation and easier.

"Well, if you're such a scaredy cat, why don't you go next 'doc?'" Snake said between his teeth.

Dana reached the top of the roof.

"I'm up! Who's next?" she called down.

"Out of my way!" cried the doctor.

Mike shoved past Snake and started to climb. The mercenary retaliated quickly and grabbed the back of the doctor's collar aggressively.

"Nuh-uh. Ladies first," he said right into the face of the civilian.

Samus gave a nod and started climbing her way up. She managed to save a lot of time compared to Dana because she was a very skilled climber.

"Bartender, you're next," Snake commanded.

John made his way up the chain. The zombies were very close now, less than 10 feet away.

"There's not enough time! We have to go!" Mike whined under the groaning of the flesh eating monsters.

John made it to the top and waved.

"Hurry!" he called.

One of the zombies got really close and grabbed Snake on the arm. He reacted and flipped it over Mike and Link's head into a group of more zombies. There must have been at least 40 of them!

Sadly, Mike broke under the stress.

"No way I'm dying here!" Mike ran over to Link and grabbed him around the waist, hitting the hookshot trigger in the his hand at the same time. The hookshot activated and Link and Mike were carried up the chain to the other survivors quickly.

"Wait! We forgot Snake!" Link cried looking down below to see his friend outnumbered by the undead army.

When they reached the rooftop, Link readied his hookshot again to help his the lone Smasher, but looked over the edge only to find a mass of zombies gathering around the building they were on.

"He's...gone..." Link said slowly.

Samus gasped.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

Link holstered his weapon still looking at the infested street. She scanned and scanned through the mass of crowded bodies, but he did not see a bearded mercenary anywhere.

"Snake's dead," he said with wide eyes.

All the other survivors were under shock, even Mike.

"I-It wasn't my fault!" he said loudly. "They would have got us all if I didn't do something!"

Fire burned in Link's eyes as he heard the doctor's pathetic voice. He stormed over with extreme speed, grabbed Mike's collar and dragged him aggressively to the edge of the building.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" cried the doctor, struggling.

"No one deserves a death like that!" Link yelled, shoving Mike's head over the edge to see the mindless, bleeding monsters.

Samus acted quickly.

"Link, calm down. There was nothing you could do," she said calmly.

Link continued holding Mike's head over the edge.

Samus grabbed Link's arm forcefully.

"Link! Stop it!" she cried.

The Hylian calmed down at Samus' touch. He let go of the doctor.

"I'm...I'm sorry," he apologized nervously. "I don't know what came over me."

Mike slowly made his way over to Dana's side who comforted him.

"You people are all crazy!" he said. "Just who are you?"

Link glared angrily at the doctor.

"My name is Link," he replied seriously. "This is Samus. That guy who you fed to those monsters was Solid Snake, who was probably the only guy who could get us all out of this mess."

Everyone went quiet, save for the moaning of the undead below.

John took a deep breath before breaking the silence.

"Um, guys. We should really think about getting out of here," he said nervously.

All the survivors gave each other uneasy glances before nodding in agreement. They all made their way over to the door that led into the coffee shop.

Link stayed behind for a minute, watching the bloody monsters below. He looked into an alley way across the street behind the mob. The shadow man stood there silently.

"Thank you."

Link moved to the roof door and made his way down the stairs.

* * *

Ada took her eyes away from the undead people crowding around the coffee shop and crouched down behind the garbage cans in the alley.

"One of the strange-looking-people just died," she said into the radio.

"What a shame," replied Ivan's sarcastic voice on the other end. "Well, now you know for sure they aren't working for the Illuminados."

"True. Actually, it was quite a spectacle to behold. That one in green with the hook and chain...he knows how to take a hint."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Hmph. Indeed. Where are they now?"

Ada looked up over the garbage cans again before ducking back down.

"They've taken refuge in some sort of abandoned coffee shop," she replied. "They may be stuck in there for a while."

"I see." Ivan paused for a moment. "Perhaps you should find out exactly what they are doing here? If they prove useful to the mission, then you could convince them to help you. Otherwise, leave them be. If they aren't government agents, then the experiments will kill them anyway."

Ada nodded her head before looking back up at the mob in front of the door. They were shoving each other, swaying, standing, moaning in unison. They weren't smart enough to break through the door, but they would eventually if they found out the survivors were hiding in there.

Ms. Wong almost felt sorry for that boy in green.

"Roger that, Ivan," she said into the device. "I'll try to learn as much as I can. I'll keep you posted."

"Very well," replied Ivan. "I await the next update in your progress."

Ada pocketed the radio and pulled out her grappling hook. She shot it up to the building next to her and climbed up. Luckily, the zombies across the street didn't notice her. They were too concerned with what had happened to that tall mercenary with the beard.


	4. The Plan

Into the Dark: Revisited

Chapter 4: The Plan

It was late afternoon in Japan and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But somewhere far off in the east, a dark storm brewed. It wasn't just a regular thunder storm or tornado, no, it something much bigger. Something much darker.

And Lucario could sense it.

His ocean blue fur brushed in the wind as he stood atop the mansion roof meditating. His audience: the tens of thousands of trees that surrounded the estate. He was worrying about where Samus, Link and Snake had disappeared to. He could sense that they were in danger, but the exact location was faint.

Something had to be done.

"What are you doing up here?" asked the Aura Pokemon as he stared out into the great forest.

"Hmph. So you did notice me," replied a deep voice from behind.

A Star Warrior in dark blue armor stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Lucario did not turn around to look at him.

"You know me better than that," he said. "I know where each and every one of the Smashers are. As long as they are within range of my powers..."

He closed his eyes and remembered his missing friends.

Meta Knight wrapped his cape around himself and walked up next to the Pokemon. Both of them stared out into the maze of trees.

"I assume you already heard the news?" asked the Star Warrior calmly.

"Yes," replied Lucario instantly. "Snake never showed up for our match, so I was declared victor."

"It's not just that."

"Hm?"

"Due to the Link, Samus, and Snake's disappearance, Master Hand has decided to cancel the tournament. Which means...those of us who already won the preliminary rounds now have zero wins. Those who lost in the preliminary rounds have zero losses. We are back to square one, so to speak."

Lucario cursed to himself in his mind.

"They're so ignorant," he said through clenched teeth. "What were they thinking pulling off a stunt like that?"

Meta Knight shrugged his shoulders.

"Surely they have a legitimate reason," he replied cooly. "I'm more concerned with what Falcon's going to do when he gets his hands on them."

The Aura Pokemon chuckled.

"Feh. Falcon's an idiot. Serves him right for what Samus did to his car."

"That stunt wiped out a quarter of Olimar's Pikmin garden. The greenhouse still needs to be repaired."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

The Star Warrior turned to the Pokemon.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Lucario opened his eyes and glanced at the shorter warrior.

"They're in danger, Meta Knight," he said. "I feel that their very souls are being tormented as we speak. Somewhere in this world...they have fallen into a trap."

"You are sure about this?"

"Truly. I can't bear to stand here any longer while our friends are being tortured as we speak. I...they need help."

Lucario jumped off the roof and landed smoothly in front of the mansion. Meta Knight reacted quickly and hopped down three stories next to him.

"What is your plan then?" he asked.

Lucario had his eyes focused on the forest.

"I'm going to track them down," he said without looking at the Star Warrior. "If they are in need of assistance, then surely I can give them the strength they need. However, I cannot guarantee my survival." Lucario turned to him. "Meta Knight, I want you to organize a search party. If I don't arrive back within the hour, then assume something has happened to me. I'll be somewhere in the east. If I'm in trouble, I'll launch an Aura Sphere into the sky. That will be your signal."

The Pokemon nodded his head before dashing off into the mass of trees.

"Wait!" cried Meta Knight. "What should I tell the others?"

"Don't tell them anything!" replied Lucario's voice. "It's too dangerous to get everyone involved. Tell only your closest allies what I have told you!"

His voice died away and all was silent. Meta Knight stood still on the front steps of the mansion for a while, deciding the best course of action. Telling the others that Samus, Link and Snake were in trouble wouldn't be easy, but he had a feeling that it was the only way.

It was time to organize a search party.

* * *

"Master Hand! Open the damn door!" bellowed Ganondorf as he hammered on the mahogany wood.

Master Hand made no reply from inside his office. All the Smashers crowded around in the small hallway and began yelling at the giant hand.

"Put the tournament back on!" cried Red.

"You can't just cancel it in the middle of our brawls!" shouted Bowser.

"Give-a me back my trophy!" whined Mario.

To make a long story short, they were all mad because of the three Smashers' disappearances. Had they not taken off somewhere, Master Hand would have kept the tournament up and running. Now, no one was brawling.

"Master Hand, this is your last chance!" shouted Ganon. "Open this door or else we'll use Sonic as a battering ram!"

"Yeah!" replied the hedgehog next to him. "Say what!?"

Ganondorf grabbed Sonic by the arms and began whacking him into the door.

"Hey hey stop it!" cried Sonic.

He broke free from Ganon and the two began to fight in the middle of the crowd. Unfortunately, other Smashers were pulled into it, and before anyone knew it, a whole brawl broke out in the middle of the hallway. Fists were thrown, kicks were launched, swords were swung, and people were being tossed all over the place.

Meta Knight strolled onto the scene casually from around a corner. Ha walked up to Captain Falcon who had his arms locked with Ike Greil.

"Um, excuse me, Falcon," said the Star Warrior, tapping the racer on the shoulder.

"Beat it short stuff!" replied Falcon rudely. "Can't you see I'm busy here!"

"Busy getting your ass handed to you!" spat Ike as he pushed the racer into the wall.

The Star Warrior sighed as he watched his fellow Smashers beat the stuffing out of each other. Fortunately, he anticipated such a situation, as he produced a Timer from behind him. He activated the Item, freezing everyone on the spot. In the still of the fight, the Star Warrior grabbed Falcon, Ike, Zelda, Lucas, Ness, Pit, Fox, and Falco from their respective positions and dragged them all into a nearby room.

The effects of the Timer soon dissipated after a few minutes and the remaining Smashers were back to fighting.

* * *

"So..." started Pit as he leaned back in the soft chair. "What is it you wanted to talk to us about?"

Meta Knight stood in the center of the room, his cape wrapped around himself again. The sound of people brawling emanated through the walls.

"There is something you should all know," replied Meta Knight. "It's about the missing Smashers."

Zelda sat on a chair close by while Ike stood tall next to her. Falcon was leaning against the wall by a picture of the mansion. Ness and Lucas sat on the bed while Fox and Falco stood off to the side.

"Missing Smashers? Oh, you mean Link, Samus and Snake?" asked Ike.

Meta Knight nodded.

"Yes, precisely."

Captain Falcon sneered.

"Oh please," he said. "Why should we give a care about them? It's their fault the tournament's been cancelled. And that stupid bitch trashed my car..."

The Star Warrior glared at the racer and he backed off.

"We know, Falcon, but that's not why I brought you here," replied Meta Knight. "It was requested by Lucario that I organize a search party to locate the missing Smashers. And-"

"Let me guess," interrupted Falco. "We're the search party."

"Good guess."

"Wait, really?" asked Pit in surprise. "But why just us? Why not the others?"

"It was also requested that the 'others' do not hear a word about this. If they knew, we could all be in danger."

All the listening Smashers in the room gave a surprised expression.

"Danger?" asked Ness. "You mean-"

"Yes," responded the Star Warrior. "Link, Samus and Snake are in danger. Lucario set off to the east earlier to search for them. If he doesn't return within the hour, he has given us permission to follow him to his destination."

"Where is his destination?" asked Zelda.

"I'm not sure. He just said to keep our eyes facing the east. An Aura Sphere will be our hint to figuring out where he is. We have to trust him. Now, the reason why I chose you seven is mainly because three of you have your own ships."

Falcon, Fox and Falco exchanged glances.

"Go on," replied Fox.

"Ness and Lucas have their PSI powers which should help us locate Lucario if we don't find his Aura Sphere. Ike's strength should come in handy as well as Zelda's magic. Pit's wings will be necessary for this as well."

"Why didn't you ask Sonic?" asked Zelda. "He has speed."

"I was contemplating that. Unfortunately, you all know as well as I do that Sonic has a tendency to be a bit careless, and that is something we absolutely cannot have in our party. I also considered taking Ganon but he isn't the most trustworthy being. All of you here seem to have your wits about you, plus you all have one skill that the other doesn't possess, so in that sense, we have a balanced team. Of course, I myself will be joining you on this mission."

Most of the others nodded in agreement, but Falcon just scoffed.

"This is stupid," he said. "We don't even know where they are."

Meta Knight slapped himself in response.

"Falcon. Did you not hear what I just said? Lucario will be giving us the location."

"It's not just that though," he said, moving away from the wall. "With the disappearance, Master Hand has cancelled the tournament, which means if the others find out that we're going off on a wild goose chase-"

"It's not a 'wild goose chase.' I'm certain that what Lucario told me is accurate information. Besides, it's not like you had anything else planned for today."

"Getting back to what I was saying..." said Falcon, ignoring the Star Warrior's comment. "If the others find out about what we're up to, they're going to be pretty pissed."

"Which is exactly the reason why none of them must know. Not even Master Hand," replied Meta Knight seriously.

Everyone listening exchanged uneasy glances. After knowing what Meta Knight had told them, not one of them could begin to imagine what had happened to Link, Samus and Snake.

"So, can I trust all of you on this?"

The Star Warrior put out his gloved hand in a fist. He looked around, everyone giving him hesitant glances.

After a few moments, Ike took the initiative; he walked up to the Star Warrior and put his hand on his.

"You can trust me," he replied seriously. "You have my sword."

Meta Knight nodded.

"Thank you."

Zelda soon stood up and put her hand on top of Ike's.

"If Link really is in trouble, we should help him," she said. "I owe him my life, in more ways in one. May the power of Din, Farore and Nayru be with us."

Quickly, Ness jumped to his feet and ran over to the group.

"If our friends need help, you can count me in!" he exclaimed. "Right Lucas?"

Little Lucas hopped down off the bed and shuffled nervously to his friend's side.

"I...I don't know how I will be able to help...but I'll try," he said.

"We'll be right by your side too," said Fox, putting his arm around his companion.

"Too an extent," commented Falco.

Pit stood up and raised a fist in the air.

"In the name of Palutena, we shall prevail!" he shouted.

The Star Warrior couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm of his friends. Truly, he picked the right group for the search party.

"What about you, Falcon?" asked Ike.

Everyone looked at Captain Falcon who was leaning against the wall again.

"Hmm..." he replied. "I guess I could come along. There's something I have to tell Samus, anyway." He gave a salute, his back still leaned on the wall. "I'm in. Don't get too excited now."

The Star Warrior nodded again.

"Thank you. Now that we're settled, all that's left is too wait for Lucario to give us the signal."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Falcon, clapping his hands once. "Let's go get ready!"

The F-Zero racer strolled out of the room casually, bypassing the fighting that was still taking place in the hall.

"He seemed rather cheery," replied Zelda surprised.

"Indeed," said Meta Knight. "I have a feeling that Falcon isn't taking this seriously."

* * *

The underground room was completely dark save for two brightly lit torches at the altar. A man in a blue mystic robe was standing at the top, his hands in the air as if he was going to preach. Behind him was a large portrait of an old man in a purple robe. Beneath him at the bottom of the stairs, an army of men in black cloaks chanted demonically.

"Brothers!" announced the man in blue. "Lend me your ears!"

The chanting suddenly stopped and all attention was directed at the shadowed man at the altar. The man at the top cleared his throat and continued with his speech.

"Ten years ago, this city had been infested with the ultimate bio-weapon in the world! Tyrant Virus! And now, ten years later, I bring you the exact same scene! The surface! The people! Umbrella! They tried to betray us! They promised the great Lord Saddler power beyond measure!"

The people cheered.

"And they turned against us!"

The people shouted.

"But worry not, my brothers!" said the blue man. "For we have returned! Umbrella may have taken our beloved Plagas from us, but now we have their virus! We have the Tyrant!"

More cheering.

"For too long have we hidden ourselves from the world. Too long have we let those Americans rule the economy and the nations. We will avenge the death of our Lord Saddler! And now, my brothers, it is time to strike! Soon the United States of America will see the full force of Los Illuminados! Soon, the whole world will bow down before us! We will destroy Umbrella! We will annihilate the BSAA! We will not die!"

Up above this scene, military troops in black and green were being dropped off from choppers. Zombies roaming the city attacked from near and far. Bullets were fired. Monsters were killed. Friends were eaten. The plan that Osmund Saddler had established four years ago was finally taking its effect on the world.

And there was no one who could stop him.


	5. Stress

Into the Dark

Chapter 3: Stress

Link opened the door to see his fellow survivors waiting for him in the living room. John was sitting with his head back on a chewed-up couch while Mike sat on a love-seat with his head in his hands, sighing deeply. Dana sat on the floor, examining the make-shift bandage on her shoulder. Ironically, there was no blood anywhere, however, the room looked almost empty. Wires lay hung on the walls where pictures used to be. The coffee table lay bare with the exception of John's bloody shoes which were propped up on the black coffee table. This made Link look behind him to notice that he himself was also tracking dirt and blood into the room.

Whoever owned this place abandoned it along time ago.

Link looked out the bare window across the street. The shadowed figure he had seen earlier was not there. He sighed.

The carpet was soft beneath his feet and he had just remembered that they had taken shelter in a coffee shop. Hopefully, the first floor will be just as clear as the second. He heard water running and turned his head in the direction of a nearby locked door. Samus was washing up in the bathroom.

"_Hope she's okay in there_," Link thought.

Mike took his hands off his face and looked to John who sat staring at the pale ceiling, his gun resting at his side.

"Does someone mind explaining to me what happened to this city?" Mike asked the bar owner. "This was not what I signed up for."

John looked back at him.

"You don't know, do you?" he said frowning. The expression he gave the doctor was almost shameful.

Mike shook his head in response without saying anything.

"And you?" John asked Link who shook his head as well.

"If we knew this was going to happen, do you think we would have come here?" he replied, trying to lighten the mood but failing.

Link's stomach made a subtle rumble. He just remembered, he hadn't eaten since lunchtime. And it didn't help that he threw up earlier too. He wanted to go downstairs to see if there was any food lying around, but he couldn't take his mind off those zombies.

The sound of water stopped and Samus emerged from the bathroom, her face clean of all sweat and her hands washed of blood and dirt. She moved over to her Hylian friend by the table. Dana immediately got up and made her way to the bathroom and locked the door.

Whatever John was going to say, she didn't want to hear it.

John took a deep breath and relaxed himself.

"10 years ago, this city had endured the same shit you see out there," he started.

"Wait. You mean this has happened before?" Samus asked, eyes widening slightly.

"Yes, though it wasn't as bad," replied John, stretching his arms. "September 1998. That's when it happened. That's when this city was struck by evil in pure form."

Mike crossed his legs and directed all his attention toward the bartender.

Link was feeling uneasy.

"_I need to eat something_..." he thought to himself, holding his stomach.

"It all started when these random murders started occurring all over the city," continued the bartender. "No one knew who was responsible for these murders. The only clue that the RPD could work with was the fact that the victims were 'eaten' alive. Pretty soon weird creatures started wandering around the city, killing innocent people and turning them into...monsters."

Samus nodded, showing that she was following along. Link felt his vision blur slightly before returning to normal.

"In a matter of days, the situation became too great for the police to handle. Even special agents sent by Umbrella themselves could not stop the monsters."

"Umbrella?" Samus asked curiously.

John put his feet on the floor and leaned forward.

"Their the ones who started this whole thing in the first place."

Samus gasped.

"What is Umbrella?" she asked.

"A company specializing in bioengineering and pharmaceutical products," replied John. "I don't know their background all too well. But rumor is that they developed a virus that could turn people into bio-organic weapons. It was supposed to be a top-secret government issue, but Umbrella got side-tracked...a group of field specialists--STARS.--were dispatched to discover the truth behind Umbrella. Of the thirteen STARS members that went into the Arklay Mountains to investigate, five made it out alive."

"That's horrible..."

"That isn't the worst of it. Some time after the incident in the Arklay, the surviving STARS members claimed that they found undead monsters they referred to as 'zombies.' They said they witnessed people being turned into grotesque creatures right before their eyes. To make matters worse, they said they also encountered more than just zombies up there. Apparently, dogs and birds are affected by the virus as well."

Samus bit her lip.

"Testing on animals...The virus..."

"Right."

Link looked out the window again, eyes half open.

"Where are the Arklay Mountains?" he asked.

John pointed west.

"Out there, beyond the forest," he replied. "Did you notice them coming in?"

Samus closed her eyes.

"I can't remember," she said, thinking back.

Link opened his eyes wide. As a matter of fact, he did see mountains rising up from the dark forest when they landed outside the city. He remembered the gunfire. And the scream.

"H-How did the virus get into the city?" he asked, trying to stay with the conversation.

John continued his story.

"The STARS agents managed to destroy the facility where the virus was being bred, but they failed to stop it from spreading," the bartender explained. "Rats are the carriers. They get into the city and live in the sewers. After a few days, people start to pick it up and before anyone knows it, the virus has already hit half the population. I know this from experience..." John closed his eyes, the memory of a burning city biting at his mind. "That's why Dana is lucky to be alive. One bite--even a scratch--can be lethal enough to kill you."

Mike did not react to this comment, but kept his eyes focused on him.

Samus took a step forward.

"That explains how the virus got out in the first place," she said. "Where are these murders coming from?"

John looked down at the ground.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Raccoon City was completely 'sanitized' during the first outbreak. We had to rebuild and replace the entire city. Too make things worse, Umbrella managed to cover up its crimes with excuses that the media took advantage of."

Link felt the rumbling in his stomach again.

Dana emerged from the bathroom, face and hands clean. She went to go sit down next to John.

"Will we make it out of here, okay?" she asked, looking into John's eyes.

John just stared at her, noticing the fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll make it out," he replied with a nod. He turned to Samus and Link. "We have to."

The Hylian didn't get a chance to return the gesture because he soon found himself sprinting to the bathroom and slamming the door tight. He collapsed to his knees in front of the open toilet and began puking his guts out.

A sudden knock came from the door.

"Link! Are you okay in there?" asked Samus' muffled voice.

The Hylian pushed himself away from the seat and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Ugh...Yeah. Don-Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just...a little sick...Give me a moment," he replied in a daze.

He heard Samus' footsteps leaving before pulling himself to his feet and flushing the toilet.

Surprisingly, the bathroom was pretty clean. A bathtub lay opposite to the door, the toilet bowl close by. A window stood opposite to the sink on the right wall. Link glanced at the clean tub.

"_Man, I could sure use a shower right now_..." he thought.

He quickly shook the thought out of his head. He knew they couldn't stay here for long. Those zombies would find a way to break in eventually, assuming they were still crowded outside the store.

Link went over to the sink and looked in the mirror. He could barely recognize himself as a mask of ash and dried blood covered his face.

"_This better not be my blood_..." Link thought, turning on the water and washing it down the drain. After some scrubbing, he looked up again to see the face of a handsome Hylian. However, the Hylian in the mirror did not smile. But why couldn't he? In truth, Link was still thinking about his lost comrade. Although he hadn't known Snake for very long, he was still considered one of his most trusted friends.

Link remembered a time he and Snake partnered up for a skirmish against Ike and Luigi on Pokemon Stadium 2. Snake had managed to grab the Smash Ball and board the chopper circling the stage. Link knocked Ike off the stage with a spin attack. Snake was aiming his grenade launcher at Luigi but the green plumber was a slippery fellow. Link grabbed Luigi with his hookshot, holding him down. Snake took the opportunity to fire his last round and knock Luigi away for good.

Ah, those were the good times.

A tear was forming in the mirror Link's face. He quickly wiped it away.

After cleaning his hands, he went to the toilet again and did his business. When he finished, he turned to the bathtub a second time, a blue shower curtain hanging carelessly. He considered taking a shower but felt that his stomach was the first thing that needed to be satisfied.

He exited the bathroom back into the living room. Everyone else sat around silently.

"I'm going to see if there's anything to eat downstairs. Anyone want to come?" asked the Hylian.

Samus walked up to his side. She to hadn't eaten since lunch time and her tummy was begging for nourishment. "I'll go with you, she replied. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Trust me."

Dana and John also stood up at the same time.

"I'll come," said the girl quietly.

Mike did not leave his seat. He was staring at the floor, his eyes locked in place like two ping pong balls.

Link did not seem to like the doctor very much. He did not mind leaving him up here on his own.

"What about you, Mike?" he asked reluctantly.

Mike snapped out of his trance.

"Oh!" he said surprised. "Um, don't worry about me. I'll wait for you. Call me if you leave."

He closed his eyes.

Link nodded before leading the other survivors downstairs, John taking his gun with him just in case. Link was the first to reach the first floor. There was a counter and tables with chairs in an orderly fashion. A jukebox lay in the corner. Public restrooms were on the other side of the room. The black and white floor showed no signs of zombie footprints anywhere. The perfect spot to relax.

Link took a door back into the kitchen; Dana and Samus followed.

John made his way to the cash register to check it.

"Damn, empty," he cursed under his breath.

The front windows had thick, mahogany blinds covering it, the only barrier shielding the eyes of the undead from noticing the survivors.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was as empty as the cash register. Dirty pots and pans lay all over the sink. Everywhere else seemed spotless as Samus winced at the brightness of the stainless steel appliances. Whoever was here, must have cooked something to go and left the mess, thinking they would never need to clean it again. Too bad they didn't leave any food behind.

Link noticed a giant metal door in the back of the room: the freezer. Maybe there was food in here? Or maybe something he could cook? There was only one way to find out.

Dana stood by the kitchen entrance while Samus checked the empty cupboards.

Link grasped the door and pulled with all his might. It was locked. He checked his hands to make sure he was wearing the Golden Gauntlets. Sure enough, he saw his own face staring back at him in a shiny gold reflection. Link tried again, pulling harder this time. The door nudged a little bit. He pulled again. This time, the door opened completely and something heavy and cold fell on top of Link causing him to fall to the hard floor. He opened his eyes to see the face of a frozen man with a horrifying expression on his face.

"Ahhh!!" Link cried.

Samus quickly came over and pulled the frozen body off of Link. He started gasping.

"What...was that?" he asked panting.

Dana came over to investigate. Samus looked at the face down body on the floor. The man wasn't a zombie.

"He must have been locked in there," she said in disgust.

Link looked at the body that 'attacked' him. The man was holding a rusty crowbar in his right hand, dried blood crusting at the sides. He must have tried to pry his way out, but to no avail.

Link looked past the body into the mouth of the freezer. A cold mist was descending from it. Pieces of meat were hanging on hooks near the back. He stuck out his tongue.

"There's no way I'm eating that," he said.

He got up off the floor and made his way into the freezer.

"It's cold," Dana said hugging herself.

Samus stood by the open door to make sure her friend wouldn't get trapped in there like the unfortunate soul lying on the ground.

Link was astonished. The freezer was just about empty, save for a few ice cream cartons and some french fries. Having no other options, he grabbed two ice cream cartons (vanilla) and brought them out to his companions.

"This was all that was in there," he said holding up the two cartons for them to see.

"Let's get back to John," replied Samus.

The three made their way back to the main shop. John was next to a vending machine attempting to kick the food out of it. He noticed them walk in.

"What did you find?" he asked.

"Just ice cream. The kitchen is empty. Someone was trapped in the freezer, frozen to death," Link replied.

"That's gross," John said before slamming the butt of his weapon into the vending machine.

Dozens of small candies and chips fell out, scattering across the floor. The bartender grabbed a handful before moving over to the three by the counter. Dana found some spoons in a nearby drawer. Link opened the two cartons to reveal a shining, white goodness filled to the rim.

John took a bite from one of the salvaged "Crunch" bars.

"I'll only eat a little," he said. "I'm not in the mood for ice cream."

Now that he thought about it, Link wasn't in the mood for ice cream either. The environment, the events, they just keep piling onto his shoulders like dead weights. But ice cream was still food and he ate it graciously. Samus and Link shared a carton, while Dana had one to herself.

They ate in silence.

John looked over at the jukebox.

"You know, they have some pretty good songs on that thing," he said casually, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "If it wasn't for those freaks outside, I'd put some on for you guys."

Link or Samus weren't very familiar with music of the real world. Any music Link listened to either came from the background music of the brawl stages or his ocarina, which he liked to play to relax him. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his blue instrument at the mansion.

He wondered if the other Smashers were worried about him. How was Zelda doing? Was she worried? Captain Falcon probably couldn't care less about Samus' well-being. And how would they react to Snake's accidental death?

The Hylian closed his eyes.

They just had to come and rescue them. If they didn't come to save him, what kind of friends would they be? Or would it be better for them to stay at the mansion, away from all these creatures? Link contemplated on the worst case scenario.

His eyes shot open when he heard the sound of glass shattering and Mike screaming.

The others looked to the staircase and dropped their spoons.

"No! Mike!" Dana screamed.

John immediately ran up the stairs. The others followed closely behind. The bartender stopped at the top of the stairs, shocked by what he witnessed.

Mike was rolling around on the floor with what appeared to be four feathered animals biting and pecking at his flesh. Wings were flapping wildly as the crows attempted to follow their struggling victim. Mike was screaming in pain.

"Dammit!" yelled John as he ran to Mike's side.

He grabbed the barrel of his shotgun and swung at one of the crows pecking at Mike's vulnerable body. It was a direct hit as the crow was sent 10 feet before colliding with the wall and exploding. The other crows stopped attacking and turned to their new attacker. They sprang on John recklessly. John dropped his weapon at the pain of beaks breaking into his flesh. Link acted quickly and whacked one of the crows off him with his boomerang. The bird soared through the air and out the window. He knocked the other crows off John. One of them hit the ground and was accidentally trampled by John as he was stomping around trying to ease the pain. The other bird managed to stop in mid-air and turn around back at Link. Link braced himself for the impact. Suddenly, a shot gun blast was heard and the crow exploded in a mass of blood all over Link's face and upper body.

He turned to see Samus who was holding a smoking shotgun.

"Thanks, I just got this cleaned," he said sarcastically.

Samus smiled back but quickly turned to John and Mike. John was standing up, a few bruises and blood on his arms and face. Mike was in worse condition. He was lying on the floor and breathing heavily while looking up at the ceiling. There were cuts and blood all over his upper body, especially his chest. Dana knelt at his side.

"Mike! Are you alright?" she asked almost sympathetically.

Mike swallowed the blood hard.

"I'm fine. I just need some time," he replied, looking at John, Link and Samus. "Thank you. You saved my life."

Link did not understand. Was this poor creature, the one who Link blamed for Snake's death, thanking him? Why did he not feel that he should kick this man where he lay? Maybe he felt sorry for him?

"The herbs..." Mike said, breathing heavily. "Do you have them?"

John reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful full of the crumpled plants.

"Here," he replied.

"Put them over my wounds...quickly..."

Samus grabbed the herbs and started breaking them up and placing them on the wounds. Dana held the doctor's hand, tears forming in her eyes. Samus did her best to cover them all. They stung at the open wounds as some of them already started taking effect.

Mike winced at the pain.

"Now...grab the First Aid Spray out of my left pocket."

Samus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the half-empty green can.

"Spray a little bit over each wound."

Samus did as she was instructed. The pain came back and Mike closed his eyes. His breathing became slow.

"You'll be alright...You'll be alright..." Dana kept saying to herself.

Link stood by watching this dramatic scene. He examined his boomerang, which had bird guts all over it. He rubbed it off on the bottom of his boot. John placed his gun that Samus dropped on the table.

They waited silently for a few moments. Dana had her hand clenched around the doctors. Sure enough, his eyes slowly opened. The girl started to cry. Mike just smiled.

"Thank you, Samus," he said as he felt the warm embrace of the girl next to him.

That was the first time Samus had heard Mike call her by her name. It felt kind of good.

"Will you be alright?" asked John, noticing the blood splattered on Link's face.

"I don't know," he replied. "I'm not as bad as Mike was."

The wounds on Mike's chest and face were completely healed.

Samus was astounded at the healing powers of the First Aid Spray. Maybe she could ask Master Hand to make it an Item in Smash Bros. if she ever got back.

"Is there any more of that spray?" Mike asked.

Samus shook the can.

"A little, but not a lot," she replied. "That should be enough to cover you."

Samus sprayed John's arms and his face, making sure not to hit his eyes. It stung at first, but soon John could feel his wounds lifting away.

"Ah, much better," he said happily.

Samus placed the can on the table.

"We'll need more of that stuff if we're going to survive out here."

Link's boomerang was all clean now, but his face was still crimson from the blood. He left the scene and reentered the bathroom.

"What were those things?" Dana asked helping Mike to his feet.

John didn't hesitate to answer.

"Crows. Crows that were feeding on infected flesh. You usually don't see that many of them in the city though..."

Samus looked to the door Link disappeared behind.

"That's not a good sign," she said.

"Let's get out of here. This place isn't safe anymore," responded Mike, making his way to the staircase.

"But, where will we go? It's too dangerous out there," Samus replied.

John folded his arms and closed his eyes. He looked like he was sleeping standing up.

"We either stay here and wait for more monsters to show up, or we find somewhere else to take shelter," he finally said before opening his eyes again.

Samus understood.

"Okay, let's wait for Link."

Link stared at the bloody Hylian in the mirror again.

"What happened to you?" he asked it. "You used to be so happy."

The red face gave him a dull look.

Link washed his face in the cool water, allowing all the red to disappear down the drain. He looked up at the clean face noticing a pair of beady eyes in the corner of the mirror.

"_Someone's behind me_..." he thought cautiously.

The eyes were joined by a dark face that he could not recognize.

"_The shadow man again?_"

Their eyes locked. Link clenched his fists.

"Who are you?" he said out loud.

The shadow's eyes got small; it did not reply.

"Why have you been following us?" Link asked.

The shadow's eyes opened again.

"You are interesting to me..." the raspy voice replied.

Link did not know the voice. Who is this man that has been stalking him?

"What do you want?" Link narrowed his eyes on the figure. There was no answer. "Answer me!" he yelled turning around to the open window.

He froze.

There was no one there.

He lowered his fist slowly.

"Who are you?" he asked again quietly.

A knocking came from the door.

"Link? Are you okay in there? You were yelling."

It was Samus' voice.

Link reached for the doorknob, but not before looking back at the window. A cold wind blew in from outside. He turned the knob and went out to meet the others. Samus stood in front of him.

"Are you okay?" she asked again.

Link didn't know what to say. He walked past her and the others until he reached the stairs. Mike stepped back from the stair case, intimidated by Link's facial expression. Dana took a few steps back too. John grabbed his gun and reloaded it with what little ammo he had.

"Link?" Samus asked.

Link stopped and turned to Samus. She saw the terror in his eyes and froze at the sight.

"It's not safe here. We have to leave. Now!"

* * *

"What's the news on our little blue friend?" asked Captain Falcon, twirling a Magnum in his fingers.

Meta Knight glanced at him from the corner of his eye then stared back out at the forest. "

Why the weapon?" he replied seriously.

Falcon nearly dropped his gun on the roof of the mansion as he scrambled to maintain control.

"Speak for yourself," he said rudely, holstering the Magnum. "You're the one who carries a sword twenty-four-seven."

The Star Warrior rolled his eyes, his view still focused on the east.

"I've been keeping an eye out for Lucario," replied Meta Knight, answering Falcon's question. "But so far, there has been nothing."

He turned around to see his teammates boarding the Falcon Flyer. Fox and Falco jumped into their own separate Arwings and revved up the engines. Falcon snorted.

"I guess that's our cue to be getting out of here then," he said with a smirk, turning to board his craft.

Meta Knight quickly dashed in front of him and blocked his path, his cape wrapped around him securely.

"You know this is not a joke, don't you?" asked Meta Knight glaring.

Falcon looked past the Star Warrior at his magnificent aircraft, not even bothering to look at him.

"The only reason why I'm coming with you is because you asked me," he replied, wiping his nose. "Any other case, I'd be kicking back, waiting for the tournament to start back up."

"This is not a game."

"Life's a game, Meta-'Kite'. There has to be winners and there has to be losers. If something really did happen to Link, Samus and Snake--or so you say--then I guess that makes them the losers. I'm not risking my life for something I'm not going to get anything out of."

Meta Knight closed his eyes and nodded.

"If what you say is true, then you should stay behind and wait here for our return," he said.

"BUT!" retorted Falcon, sticking up a finger. "I'm prepared to help you on your little 'mission' on one condition."

The Star Warrior was shocked at the racer's proposal, but he made no outward emotion showing.

"Your friends' lives are at stake and all you can think about is yourself? Really Falcon, when I first joined the Smash Bros. they told me that you were better than this."

"What?" asked Falcon, as if he didn't hear him the first time.

The Star Warrior turned away for a moment.

"They told me you were one of the nicest men in the group. They said you brightened people's hearts just by being in their presence." He glanced at him. "Looking at you now, I just can't see that. Is something wrong, Falcon? If there is, please let me know. I'm sure I could help."

Falcon stepped back, his mouth gaped.

"Ah. Uh. What?!" he replied. "There's nothing wrong with me! And even if there was, I surely wouldn't tell you anything about it!"

Falcon brushed past the Star Warrior and strutted to his ship, chin held high. Meta Knight remained in his spot.

"If you can't tell me, Falcon...Who can you tell?"

The racer stopped dead in his tracks, his spine freezing like black ice.

"What did you say?" he asked turning around, eyes flaring.

Meta Knight turned to face him.

"Is there no one whom you can trust entirely?" he replied. "I sense strong emotions within you, Falcon. Sadness. Hatred. Fear."

Falcon clenched his fists in rage.

"What do you know about me!? You barely even know me!"

"It is precisely the reason why you need someone to talk to." Meta Knight threw off his cape and pointed Galaxia at the racer. "All these emotions you keep bottled up inside you...You take them out on others who want to help."

Falcon drew his Magnum and aimed it at Meta Knight's face.

"The way I live my life is none of your business," growled the racer.

Meta Knight lowered his weapon.

"On the contrary," he said, "it is my business as an honor-bound warrior to enforce the laws of justice. Treating people with disrespect does not make you any better or worse than they are."

Falcon clicked off the safety of his weapon, teeth gritting like metal.

"Enough of this, Meta Knight," he threatened. "Enough."

"What, are you going to shoot me, Falcon?"

"No!" Falcon holstered his weapon clumsily. "I just...I...Argh!"

Falcon turned away and stormed to his ship, cursing colorful words beneath his breath. Pit exited the ship just as Falcon climbed aboard, giving him a strange glance as he approached the Star Warrior on the roof. Meta Knight sheathed his sword.

"What's his problem?" asked Pit concerned.

The Star Warrior shrugged his shoulders.

"According to him, it's not mine," he replied. "I fear that Falcon's inability to control his emotions may cause us trouble along the way, but I am not sure."

Pit ruffled his wings and cracked his knuckles.

"You know, I could always question him for you. Remember-"

"I know. You can tell if people are lying to you."

"Yeah! So if you-"

"Don't bother," interrupted Meta Knight, putting a gloved hand on the angel's chest. "I don't need him losing his tempter right now. We have enough things to worry about with the missing Smashers and all."

"Oh," replied Piy embarrassed. "I understand."

"Good. Now Pit, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Hm?"

"I need you to stay here and keep a watch over the others."

"What!?" replied Pit in disbelief. "You're leaving me here!?"

The Star Warrior nodded.

"I have no choice. If any of the others find out where we've gone, there is no doubt in my mind they will try to follow us. I need you to make sure no one leaves these grounds."

Pit backed off and made a pouty face.

"Aw. Just when we were about to go on an adventure, too," he muttered.

"We are not going on an 'adventure'," said Meta Knight seriously. "As a matter of fact, we could be heading straight into a trap. I do not know for certain."

"So that's it then. You're just going to take off without me."

"That is the plan. I wish I could have it another way."

Pit nodded slowly.

"Okay, I see. I guess I'll wait out here for you to come back. Maybe I'll repair the greenhouse. It's pretty banged up after Samus dropped Falcon's car on it."

Meta Knight gave a solemn bow and then proceeded to the Falcon Flyer.

"Thank you, Pit," he said. "Keep in touch with us. We'll let you know when we'll be back."

"Gotcha, sir. Take care!"

"You too."

With that, Meta Knight boarded the aircraft and the three ships took off together. The Arwings led them off to the east in a flash of light and before Pit knew it, they were gone. It was starting to get dark out.


	6. Enter: Leon Scott Kennedy

Into the Dark: Revisited

Chapter 4: Enter: Leon Scott Kennedy

The full moon ascended over a field of dark clouds its white light shining upon the wasteland that lay below. Bodies laid still and lonely on the ground. The cry of a distant baby could be heard over the crackling of fires. Police cruisers stood motionless with broken windshields and dented plating. Even an armored truck was overturned at the corner of a road. The bodies of men in green uniform littered the street. Blood slowly crept across the ground like zombies creeping to their next meal. Among the wreckage, shattered glass and chunks of cement were scattered over the area. They had fallen from buildings that were slowly burning into nothingness.

A lone figure could be seen making his way across these hazard obstacles. He tripped over the body of a mutilated cop, but did not look down at it. Professionally, he leapt over a fallen street light and continued wandering his way through the city. He passed by a chain-link fence and flinched at the sight on the other side of it. A group of undead monsters (about 15) were attempting to break through the fence. The chains were changeling together and the moans of hungry voices filled the air. The stench was not too pretty either.

"_This looks all too familiar_," thought the man, staring at the thin fence blocking off the zombies.

He checked his attache case to find a handgun and 30 extra clips. A First Aid Spray lay in the corner of the case. He took one last look at the deranged creatures before closing his case and continuing his run. A few blocks and some more flaming vehicles later, the man stopped in front of a Dollar Store.

He looked at his reflection in the smudged window, which was strangely intact except for a huge bloodstain on the right side of it. A body in casual clothes sat below it, its head down and staring at the ground.

The exploring man was of medium height and had fair, brownish golden hair. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his hair dangled down in front of his face from the right side. He stared at his hiking boots, which were soaked in blood and ash. His jeans were torn on the left knee and he wore a tight, black t-shirt which showed his torso muscles underneath. His arms were bulky and his attache case was wrapped conformably around his waist. He calmly straightened the black, fingerless gloves on his hands. His reflection smirked at his sharp face.

"_What the hell did you get yourself into?_" he asked the reflection blankly.

"_I don't know, you tell me. You're the one that brought us here_," replied the reflection in his mind.

"_But...why?_"

The man froze at the sound of a shuffling noise behind him. He reached for his combat knife which hung securely in a holster on his left shoulder. The shuffling continued and he knew for certain someone was standing behind him. He quickly unsheathed the small weapon and spun on his heel to confront his enemy. The stranger behind him flinched and froze on the spot when he realized a knife was up against his throat. The man in the blue trench coat swallowed.

"Um...evening, strangah," greeted the stranger nervously.

The man in the black shirt lowered his weapon and holstered it.

"What? You again?" the man asked.

The man that had confronted him was a little shorter than he was. A dirty blue trench coat covered the man head to his ankles. He wore tight black boots and a dark purple scarf that covered the bottom half of his face so that only his eyes were revealed. A blue hood covered the top of his head. The man was very dirty and his hands had brown bandages around them. His face had cuts and scars all over it and also what appeared to be a wart near the left side of his face. His blue eyes met the man in black's.

"Ah, strangah. Good t'see you remembered me!" said the man in blue, swaying back and forth.

The man with the knife was not amused.

"Why did you follow me here?" he asked.

The blue man laughed.

"Strangah! It's not hard to forget a face like yours! You really thought you left me on that island back there? Ha! Strangah, I followed you 'cause I thought you may need more ammunition on your mission!" The blue man was holding his stomach and let go when he stopped laughing.

The fair-haired man looked confused.

"Wait, what mission? And what are you talking about? I saw the island blow up with you on it. There's no way you could have survived," he replied seriously.

The blue man put his hand on the other man's shoulder.

"That's not important strangah," he said, staring into his eyes. "The only reason why I followed you here was to get some more cash 'cause I spent nearly all my life's savings when I decided to leave Europe and come to America."

The armed man closed his eyes.

A lot had happened in the past four years since he arrived back in the states. He had been assigned by the president of the United States himself to save his daughter who had been abducted by some secret cult group called the Los Illuminados. On his mission in Spain, he confronted many strange creatures. It all started when he was being driven across the country be two local cops in their cruiser. The cruiser stopped in the middle of a forest. He remembered getting out of the car and investigating a nearby cabin only to find a crazed local attempting to kill him with a hatchet. This was only the beginning.

The man would later emerge from the cabin to be ambushed by more possessed people. He would have to take them all down with his handgun. Not only that, but the two cops he was with were murdered by these villagers. One was burned at the stake in a nearby village. The other was fed to some kind of giant sea monster in the middle of a lake. This wasn't even the half of it.

The man would eventually find that the president's daughter was being held captive in a church. After finding her, he would be confronted by the leader of the Los Illminados, Osmund Saddler. He and the girl then found themselves running all over the area to get away from the deranged people. Along the way, they met a strange man in a blue trench coat who kept on insisting that they buy stuff from him. His ammo and weapons did come in handy. In the end, Saddler was killed and the island that was breeding the virus that plagued the village people was destroyed by a bomb. The mysterious merchant was supposedly killed along with it.

Until now.

The blue man took his hand off of the other man's shoulder.

"So, you followed me here and you want to sell me your goods again?" asked the man with the knife.

"Yep! Let's get started, strangah," replied the man in blue about to open his giant coat.

"Hold on. I don't think I have enough money to pay for your weapons."

The blue man looked down at the ground before looking back up again.

"Then...what are ya sellin'?" he asked.

"Nothing. I don't have anything. Aren't you at all affected by what's going on around here?"

The blue man looked around and coughed into his scarf.

"No," he replied frankly.

"There are dead people here. Not only that but there are walking dead here. Just like the ones I saw back in '98."

"Strangah, I've seen enough dead people in my life to last a lifetime."

"And that's another thing. Stop calling me 'strangah'. My name is Leon. Leon Scott Kennedy. Get it through your head."

The merchant froze for a few seconds.

"I like 'strangah' better," he chimed.

Leon rolled his eyes.

He was under a lot of stress. Not only did he lose nearly all his weapons in his escape from the island, but after saving the president's daughter, he came back to Raccoon City to find it infested with flesh-eating monsters. Definitely not his day.

"Fine, you can call me 'strangah,' just-" he was cut off by the sound of moaning.

Both of the men turned their attention up the street. A wall of zombies were walking towards them. They were tripping over each other mindlessly, trying to get at their next meal. There was about 10 of them. Leon pulled out his handgun but quickly reconsidered.

"_If these things are anything like what I've seen before, it takes more than one shot with a handgun to take them down for good_," he thought.

"Wow, strangah, there's a lot of 'em," commented the merchant as he stared at the approaching mob. Leon turned and ran in the opposite direction. The merchant noticed and followed. "Wait for me, strangah!" He did not have to run far, as he was slowed by another group of approaching zombies. He turned around again, the merchant stumbling to follow his stronger friend. "Make up your mind strangah!"

Leon turned to the corner that had the chain-link fence in hopes that the zombies from earlier had left there and moved on. Unfortunately, they didn't. They were cornered from every angle. Leon pulled out his gun and aimed it at the head of one zombie, but quickly switched to a closer target. There was just too many of them to pick off one at a time.

The groaning became louder as Leon could smell the breath of the undead monsters from where he stood. Leon and the merchant backed up to the fence, but not close enough for the zombies to grab them from the other side.

"Damn, we're sandwiched pretty tight," Leon said under his breath.

"C'mon strangah, shoot them!"

Leon turned to his shorter friend.

"I can't! There's too many of them!"

The two groups of zombies were now one giant one as they made their way to the survivors. A sweat drop rolled down Leon's face.

"_There's not enough room for us to run past them_," he thought. Leon looked behind him at the creatures attempting to grab them through the fence. Their hands were crippled and skin was peeling off of them. "_And the fence is blocked off because of those guys_." Leon turned his attention back to the main group that were surrounding him. "_If only I had a better gun...Wait, that's it_!" Leon looked to the merchant.

"Quick! Give me something with rapid fire!" he ordered his dirty companion.

"Okay, strangah, but it's goin' ta cost ya."

Leon was disgusted by this man.

"How can you want money at a time like this!? We'll get killed if you don't give me a weapon!"

"Sorry strangah, but that's business."

Leon looked at the approaching group that was less than 20 feet away.

"Fine, how much?" he asked impatiently.

"That'll be-"

"Never mind! Just take this, now give it to me!"

Leon slammed his wallet into the merchant's bandaged hands. He eyed the brown piece of leather with excited eyes.

"Heh, heh. Thank you," the merchant smirked. He reached into the bowels of his coat and pulled out a custom TMP. "Do you want the stock, strangah?"

"Just give me the damn gun!" The merchant handed Leon the weapon and he aimed it at the first zombie he saw, which was about 7 feet in front of him. "Eat this!" Leon yelled unleashing the power of the automatic pistol. He was smart to aim high, because the zombie head quickly exploded when it came in contact with the flying bullet. The body collapsed and Leon did the same to the other monsters. As bullets flew and bodies collapsed, eventually Leon Kennedy ran out of ammo.

Click!

The chamber was empty. There were still a couple of zombies standing. Leon switched the gun to his handgun and picked off the remaining stragglers. When all was silent--save for the zombies behind the fence--he turned to the merchant.

"Now was that so hard?" he asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. The merchant did not answer. He was examining the inside of Leon's wallet. Leon looked back at the monsters. "Let's get out of this area. Those guys are giving me the creeps." He went out into the middle of the dark street, the merchant slowly following behind. Leon checked his new gun. "I'll need some ammo for this." The merchant did not reply. "Hey. Why aren't you saying anything?" Leon turned to the short man.

"Hey, strangah, who's this lady?" The merchant showed Leon a picture of a young woman in a red tactical vest and shorts. She had brown hair and looked around the same age as Leon. She was smiling happily in front of the Raccoon City Police Department.

"Where did you get that?" asked Leon seriously.

"In here." The merchant held up the brown wallet.

"Hey, I told you you could have the money. Leave my personal stuff alone!"

"I did take the money, strangah, but you don't have enough. Of course, you could sell me these pictures. I like this one a lot. She's pretty."

Leon snatched the picture and the wallet.

"I'm not selling you any of these!" he said, clutching the picture close and checking to make sure the short man didn't damage it.

"Well strangah, if you don't have enough to pay for the gun, I'll have to put it on your tab."

"Great, so how much you I owe you?" The merchant pulled out a small calculator from his pocket and began to punch some numbers in. Leon tapped his foot on the ground while looking at the picture of the woman.

"_Claire...I hope you're okay. I hope you're not trapped in the middle of this like me_," he thought. He carefully tucked the picture back into his wallet.

All that was left in the brown piece of leather was his driver's license, hunting license, two credit cards, a picture of Claire, a picture of Ashley Graham (the president's daughter), a picture of Leon and Claire, and a picture of a Plagas sample. Leon took out the Plagas sample picture and tore it in half, dropping it on the cold cement.

"Okay, strangah. Sez 'ere that you owe me exactly $20,745.57."

Leon's face turned red.

"You already took my money!" he replied in disbelief.

The merchant put the calculator back into his pocket.

"I know, strangah. That did not pay for all of it though. That's the rest that you owe me."

"Wait, so I can't even get ammo to reload my TMP?"

"Well, you could. I could just put it on your tab."

"Okay, then give me 300 rounds for this thing as well as 10 extra for my handgun."

"Thank you."

Leon took the ammo and reloaded his TMP. The remaining 200 his kept in his attach case along with his handgun and ammo.

"Wait a second..." he said, staring at his weapon and then turning to the shorter man. "I don't owe you anything! I saved your life just now!"

The merchant nodded his head while swaying back and forth.

"Yeah, but it was my gun that saved you, strangah," he replied cooly.

"So that's the thanks I get for saving your life. A frickin' bill."

"Truth hurts, strangah. But better to be safe than sorry, right?"

Leon frowned.

"Don't test me, buddy. What's keeping me from shooting you right now and taking everything you've got on you?"

The merchant smirked under his scarf.

"Strangah, you wouldn't kill an innocent businessman would you?"

"No. But something about you tells me that your no 'honest businessman'."

"Heh heh. Strangah, what gave you that idea?"

"You know what, never mind. Let's just get the hell out of here."

The two of them ran through the city as quick as they could. Fortunately, they did not run past any more zombies, but they did go by plenty of bodies, over turned vehicles, fires and barricades. Leon kept his TMP close to his chest, ready to fire at anything that seemed hostile.

"Man this place sure went to hell," Leon muttered, maneuvering around fallen signs and street lights.

"Yeah. So, uh, strangah, who was the lady in the picture?" asked the man in blue.

Leon was getting annoyed by him asking this.

"She's...she's an old friend," he replied. "Someone who's helped me out of a jam more than once."

This comment made Leon think about September 1998, when the first outbreak occurred. He was just a rookie back then. First day on the job at the RPD and the city gets flooded with zombies. If it wasn't for Claire Redfield, he probably wouldn't have been able to survive it. But where was she now? Leon really wanted to get off this topic.

"So, um...merchant, what's your story?" he started without letting the man reply to his statement.

The merchant did not feel afraid of replying.

"Let's just say, strangah, that I come from a long family chain of merchants, whose only goal in life is to make as much money as possible before death."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"O....kay..."

The pair started walking at a simple pace now. The moon was creeping over the dark clouds. Gunfire could be heard from somewhere in the city. Alot of it. There must be some kind of war going on somewhere. That was none of Leon's concern though. Further up ahead, Leon noticed a large group of zombies crowding around a local coffee shop. Leon and the merchant took cover behind a fallen pickup truck.

"What do you think their waiting for?" Leon asked.

The merchant gave a surprised look.

"You're asking me, strangah? I'm not sure, me-self. How's about I sell you this single fire rocket launcher for, oh, let's say... $3000.00?"

Leon rolled his eyes again.

"Is that all you think about, really?"

"Well, it's all I have to think about."

Leon rolled his eyes before looking at the crowd.

"There may be survivors in there. We have to get them out," he said.

The merchant smiled.

"Alright then! I'll just put it on your tab. There we go!" The merchant pulled out a rocket launcher with a single rocket mounted onto it. "I'm sure you know how to use this. You've had a lot of practice, strangah."

"Oh, yeah," replied Lon without thinking. Leon put away his TMP and mounted the rocket on his shoulder. He looked through the scope and aimed right into the centre of the pack. "This should do it."

He pulled the trigger. A hissing sound was soon heard as the rocket flew across the air. The zombies turned in the direction of the noise only to be obliterated into burned flesh and organs. Charred blood and guts rained down from the sky. Leon dropped his empty weapon.

"Let's check it out."

Leon and the merchant made their way to the coffee shop and tried to open the front door. It was locked. The merchant checked the windows.

"It's locked, strangah."

Leon looked around, searching for another possible way in. He noticed a bloody Magnum on the ground.

"Huh?" He picked it up and wiped it on his jeans. "Since when do zombies use guns?"

The merchant eyed the weapon.

"Ah, she's a real beauty, strangah. I'll buy it at a high price!" he exclaimed.

Leon put the gun in his attache case.

"No way, we may need this later," he replied.

The merchant shrugged.

"Suit yourself strangah."

Leon turned his attention back to the door.

"_Maybe I can knock it down?_" he thought to himself.

Leon lifted his leg up high before bringing it down on the doorknob, shattering it instantly.

"Good thing those freaks never thought of that, eh?" Leon joked, turning to his companion. The merchant did not laugh. "Er...Alright, let's see what we've got."

Leon pushed the door open with his right hand, TMP ready in his other. The shop was empty. Tables and chairs lay neatly in rows like they were never touched. A jukebox and a vending machine stood silently on opposite corners of the room. Public restrooms stood idly to the side. All clear. The only suspicious thing Leon noticed was two half-eaten cartons of vanilla ice cream on the counter. Four spoons lay scattered on the floor.

"Looks like there was someone in here," he said, looking to the kitchen. "You, go see if there's anything back there."

The merchant did as he was told and went into the back room. Leon scanned the room one more time. No sign of undead life anywhere. He sniffed the air to make sure. His nose twitched at the scent of rotting guts. Leon turned to the nearby stairs and looked up. It was coming from up there.

"Hey, I'm going to check out the second floor," he called to his companion.

The merchant replied from behind the wall.

"Alright strangah, no worries here. Take your time!"

Leon nodded before cautiously walking up the stairs, TMP at the ready just in case. He stuck his head up from the steps.

"_Coast is clear_."

He walked up onto the carpeted floor. Small bloodstains soaked silently on the green floor. Black feathers were also scattered all over the place. An empty can of First Aid Spray sat on the coffee table. Leon could not believe how barren the room was. Whoever was here, must have packed up and left in a hurry. Leon flinched at the sight of a huge bloodstain on the west wall. Something must have hit it hard, but what?

A bathroom door was open on the other side of the room. Leon went over and inspected it. Everything seemed fine except for a little blood in the sink. The window let in a chilling breeze. He shut it.

"_Something's not right_."

Leon went back out into the living room and noticed a smashed window. He slowly walked over to it and peaked his head out. Nothing but empty buildings and bloody streets. He turned his head to come back in, when suddenly, a black bird flew up and almost hit him in the face. Leon reacted quickly and brought his head back into the room.

A crow landed outside on the window sill. It seemed to be wounded as it was dropping blood wherever it hopped.

"_There's something wrong with this bird_."

It's eyes were blood shot and it's beak was a dark red colour. Leon held his TMP at eye level, ready to shoot incase the creature attacked. It didn't. It just stared at Leon right in the eye. Leon had seen crows like these before. These crows were infected. The crow raised it's head up high and strained it neck. It started to screech loudly.

The noise was so ear shattering Leon fought back the pain of the sound piercing his ear drums. He acted on instinct and shot the crow 3 times with his TMP. The crow stopped cawing, and fell down 2 stories before exploding onto the ground.

"_Whew_."

Leon turned to go back downstairs but stopped at another sound. This sound was similar to the one the crow made except it sounded louder. It sounded like it was coming from multiple crows as well. Wild flapping could be heard outside the window. Leon could see the fear in his face through the reflection on the broken window.

"_Oh no_."

Suddenly, a huge black wave of feathers started plowing through the open window and headed straight for Leon. He dodged to the side, barely missing the huge mass of birds. The wave turned and was circling the room up high. There must have been hundreds of them. Leon quickly holstered his TMP as he backed up into a corner. The crows circled him like vultures searching for a fallen animal.

Leon looked to the staircase. If he was fast enough, he could dive under the crows and make it to the stairs. It was risky though, because if the crows saw him going for it, they would immediately ambush him. He had to time it just right. One of the crows leading the way dive-bombed Leon. The rest followed.

Leon took the small window of opportunity and made a run for it.

He dove under the wave before they crashed into the wall. He did not recover on time when he reached the stairs, losing his balance and falling down the steps. Thirteen bumps later, Leon was at the bottom of the stairway. He checked his body for any bruises or broken bones. A few cuts here and there, but nothing critical. He turned to see the crows dive down the stairs.

He made a mad dash for the kitchen. He slammed the door and locked it behind him before turning around, breathing heavily.

"Ugh...strangah?"

Leon looked up to see the merchant by the stove cooking some french fries.

"Um, strangah, what's goin' on?" asked the merchant obliviously.

Leon looked around the room to find no exits. He went to the back and noticed the freezer door open as well as a frozen body next to it.

"Damn, we're trapped," he cursed, scanning the room for any kind of escape route.

The merchant stopped what he was doing and went over to Leon.

"Strangah, who's out there?"

Leon did not have time to answer this man's question. There was loud banging coming from the door. The bastards were trying to ram it down. Leon took another scan of the room.

"There's got to be something we can use here!" he shouted, dashing around the room.

He looked at the body on the floor and at the open freezer. Inspiration struck him.

"Hey you!" said the ex-cop, pointing at the merchant.

"Whuh, me, strangah?" replied the blue man.

"Yes you! Get over here and help me move this!"

"But-"

"There's no time! move it!"

After about a minute of repeated ramming, the crows finally burst through the door and started circling the kitchen like they did on the second floor. Leon and the merchant were nowhere to be found. The freezer was open and fries were burning on the stove. The crows continued to circle until they heard a voice coming from the freezer.

"Oh no!" cried Leon. "I hope they don't find us here! In the freezer!"

The crows immediately dove into the freezer and attacked the frozen body that was leaning against the back. Once all the crows went in the freezer. the door started closing from behind. Leon and the merchant appeared from behind the door and pushed with all their might. In less than five seconds, the door was completely shut and locked. Leon fell on the ground panting.

"My God...we did it," he said shocked.

The merchant offered a hand.

"Yeah, good thinking strangah. You sure know how to think on your feet."

Leon grabbed his hand and pulled himself up.

"Thanks."

The merchant's eyes got wide.

"Oh no!" he cried.

"What?! What?!" Leon pulled out his TMP ready for action.

"Strangah! My fries are burning!" The merchant ran over to the stove to find that his fries that he had been cooking before were on fire. He quickly grabbed an idle fire extinguisher on the wall and put out the flames.

Leon holstered his weapon and sighed.

"Oh well. Better to have burnt fries than be eaten by birds."

The merchant cleared the foam out of the way and looked at the black, shriveled potatoes on in the oven.

"Aww, now I got to start all over...strangah..."

Leon walked over grabbed the frozen bag of leftover fries off the counter.

"You know, you're not as useless as you look."

* * *

Outside and a little farther up the block, a group of zombies were chasing down a group of five survivors. Samus, being the most agile of them all, lead the way.

"Quick! This way!"

Link, John, Mike, and Dana followed closely behind. The zombies were soon becoming figures in the distance as the humans easily outran them. Samus took a left turn into a dark cemetery. Hopefully, those things couldn't see in the dark and would have trouble finding them. Mike went and leaned on a nearby oak tree.

"Man, I'm out of shape," he panted.

John checked his shotgun. He had six shots left in the weapon and that was all.

"_Better save these when we need them_," he thought the himself.

Link leaned over and held his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. Dana went and sat on a tombstone. Samus was the first to speak.

"Okay, we can't just keep running form these things. We need a plan," she said.

John swung his shotgun onto his back.

"We need to get to your ship so we can get out of here!" he replied.

Mike raised his hand.

"Or we could go to the RPD. I'm sure they're fortified. They probably have food and choppers there waiting to evacuate people before they nuke the place."

Nuke the place?

"The R.P.D. is a good idea," John agreed.

"Which one's closer from here?" asked Link, looking up.

"I'm not sure."

Dana swung her legs impatiently on the tombstone.

"We could look for other survivors. With enough people, we could have a fighting chance against these things," Samus suggested.

Mike contradicted.

"There's no way I'm going near those things!"

Link agreed. That was not a good idea. Their priority was to escape, not to be heroes. That was the police's job. The moaning of the zombies could be heard getting closer.

"We should go," said Samus.

Mike got up off the tree. Dana screamed. Link quickly pulled out his hookshot and aimed where Dana was. He could not see the monster.

"It's got my foot!" cried Dana as she kicked the hand off her ankle. The hand that poked out from underground started searching for Dana's feet again. She backed away and went to Link's side who just stared at it.

"It affects those that are already dead, too?"

Suddenly more hands started popping out of the ground. Whole bodies were emerging from the earth. Some of them weren't even zombies. Skeletal creatures made entirely of bone struggled to pull themselves from their earthly prison.

"Move!" Samus cried, already ahead of the group.

The others followed again. More zombies were approaching from behind.

"These damn things just don't give up!" cursed John.

Samus noticed a large blue building up ahead that had the letters, "RPD" imprinted on the top. She smirked subtly. There may be hope for survival after all!

"Guys this way!" she called back.

Link held the rear of the group, looking behind him ever now and then to see how close the zombies were. They were behind, but they were gaining. The will to feed must have been more greater than the will to survive. Samus ran up to the main gate, which was locked by a chain. She looked up the 10 foot metal barrier. It was climbable.

"Over the gate! Hurry!"

John came over and gave Samus a boost over the bars. She landed safely on the other side. Dana ran up to John and he boosted her up over. Samus caught her on the other side. Mike and Link were still behind. John waited impatiently at the gate while other zombies started coming from all around. Finally, Mike made to the gate next and John helped him up over. Link was the last one to make it to the gate.

"Come on! I'll help you up!" said John, crouchinh down and cupping his hands.

"No! You first!" replied Link.

"There's no time for thi now, boy! Get up there now!"

"Trust me on this! Let me go after you!"

John hesitated before nodding his head slowly. Link gave him a boost up over the bars. He had trouble getting over the top, but he made it over after a few pulls. Samus looked at Link on the other side.

"Link, come on!"

The zombies were within ten feet of Link's position. If he didn't hurry soon, he would be overrun by the monsters. He took a few quick steps back and fired his hookshot at the top of the gate. It hooked securely and the chain led him up the metal bars. He landed safely on the other side.

The RPD stood just in front of him. He turned around to see the rotting faces of the undead trying to break through the metal barrier. The padlock held it in place.

"There's a chopper pad on the roof," said John. "We should be able to find someone who can help us out inside."

The others nodded and they all went down the path to the front door. Some green plants lay beautifully on both sides of the door.

"Grab those herbs, they have a special healing power that we may need," ordered Mike.

John pocketed some in his bloody vest. He then opened the grand doors and took a step inside. Mike and Dana followed. Link looked back down the path at the bloody mob. One of them made an attempt to climb over the gate but fell and broke its neck.

"_There's no way they can get in, can they?_"

The gates were being rattled by the mutated hands that grabbed them.

"Come on Link, we'll be out of here soon."

Samus went inside.

Link turned to the large doors, but not before turning around again to see a cloaked figure standing on a roof in the distance.

* * *

Ada Wong noticed the boy in green stare at her from the other side of the street, and she crouched down. The zombies were crowding around the main gate in front of the RPD. Luckily, she was high on a rooftop, safe and sound from any monster that roamed the Raccoon City streets.

"They've entered the RPD," she said into the radio. "Do you still want me to keep watch on them?"

Ivan coughed on the other end before replying.

"For a little while, yes," he replied. "I'm curious to see if they are able to escape in one piece. If they prove skillful enough to topple Umbrella's creations, then they may be perfect for my upcoming plan."

"I understand. But with all due respect, Ivan, I don't think Wesker approves of this little 'plan' of yours."

She heard Ivan chuckling on the other end. She knew that Ivan and Wesker had always been trusting partners in the past, however, Wesker had the tendency to be a tad power-hungry. To be frank, he gets too full of himself. And ultimately, it is for this reason that his plans had been foiled by Chris Refield in the past.

"Wesker..." chimed Ivan, playing with the name. "He is but a thorn on the paw of my lion. If the government does not take him into custody after this incident, then I will have no choice but to dispatch him myself. Wesker is a very evil man, Ms. Wong."

"Don't you find that kind of ironic?" replied Ada with a smirk.

Ivan paused momentarily, thinking about what she had just said.

"No," he said bluntly. "Not at all."


	7. Strange Behaviors

Into the Dark: Revisited

Chapter 7: Strange Behaviors

Marth pounded his fists against the mahogany door as hard as he could, but still Master Hand made no reply. The Altean prince slammed his forehead on the wood out of exhaustion and irritation.

"Master Hand! Open this door!" he shouted, head leaning on the door.

He paused for a moment for any sound of the slightest movement from the other side. Nothing but silence.

"Don't kill yourself trying," mumbled a low voice coming from down the hall.

Marth turned at the sound to see Ganondorf approaching him, his demonic sword in hand. The prince took his head off the door and dusted himself off.

"Well excuse me for attempting to do something about it," he replied, chin up high.

Ganon chuckled before he stopped next to the prince in front of the door.

"I've tried everything to get this door down," said the Gerudo King. "No amount of brute force will be able to penetrate it. He's sealed it with some kind of magic beyond my capabilities."

Marth was surprised that Ganon had even tried to get through the door. All of the Smashers had always known Ganondorf as the type of guy who didn't care about anything except the joy of making others suffer. Seeing him acting so selfless just didn't seem right to the blue-haired swordsman.

The prince glanced back at the door, but noticed the sword in Ganondorf's hand.

"What's that for?" he asked curiously. "You never use your sword."

Ganon breathed another laugh, which caused Marth's eyebrow to raise in question.

"Fool," said the Lord of Evil. "Do you know why I never use my sword?" Marth nodded his slowly, looking at the slender weapon in Ganondorf's hand. "The reason why I never use this sword," continued Ganon, "is because if I did, I would be unstoppable. Centuries ago in the land of Hyrule, the Seven Sages used this sword to banish me from the Light World forever. They blessed this sword with holy magic that I could not resist. I was cursed, vanquished, and Hyrule was once again at peace. However, when they banished me to the Dark World, they forgot one very important detail..."

"Uh..." replied Marth. "What did they forget?"

Ganondorf smirked and held his fist out to the Altean. A single triangle of the Tri-Force glowed a blood-red colour.

"The Tri-force of Power," explained Ganondorf, "runs through my veins. I waited for years, biding my time for the right moment to strike. When the Sages had passed on, it was at that instant that I decided to return to the world that should have rightfully been mine. Using the Tri-Force of Power, I escaped from the Dark World and took ahold of the sword that sent me there in the beginning. With the remnants of the Seven Sages' magic coursing through this blade, I possess a power that could rival that of Din!"

The Gerudo held up the sword proudly, but Marth made no outward reaction.

"So the sword has magic powers," he replied unamused. "Big deal."

"Ah, but it is a big deal. A very BIG deal!"

Ganondorf shoved the Altean out of the way and aimed the sword at Master Hand's office door.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" cried Marth, maintaining his balance.

"Master Hand has put this little game on too far! I need some answers!" replied Ganondorf. "Master Hand! Open this door at once or I'll unleash my full power!"

There was another moment's pause of silence as Ganondorf's demonic sword glowed intently at the mahogany wood.

"Ganon, please reconsider what you're about to do," said Marth calmly, raising his hands a bit. "In case you haven't noticed, Master Hand hasn't been acting himself lately. There has to be a legitimate-"

"HAARGH!"

Ganondorf lunged the sword with all his might into the door, but immediately froze as soon as the point made contact. He stood there, arms shaking, trying to drive the sword through the wood, but the weapon did not budge an inch.

"Ganondorf stop!" cried Marth.

"I can do this!" he replied. "AARRGH!"

A spark of lightning flashed on the door and Ganondorf was launched backwards through the wall into the other room. The sword that he had wielded moments before lay on the ground in front of Master Hand' office.

"Wow..." said Marth with wide eyes. "That must be some ancient magic."

"Ugh...So much for that..." muttered an exhausted Gerudo from the hole in the wall.

Marth glanced at the hole and then back at the door that still stood tall and clean.

"_Master Hand...why are you acting so strange?_" he thought. "_You're not one to break down so easily. You're strong. You're a fighter. Our friends' lives are at stake...and all you can do is hide away in your office like a coward. Even after all we've been through together. Why Master Hand? Why?_"

* * *

"Whoa," said Link walking into the main hall of the RPD.

Samus stood beside him admiring the view as well.

"This place is nice...but there's no one here!" she replied.

John was further up looking at a statue of a woman that stood in the centre of the room. Mike was wandering around.

"Where is everybody? I thought that they would be evacuating people here!"

Dana also wandered silently.

The room was a dull brown colour with dirty tiles lined up on the floor. A second and third floor balcony could be seen above them circling the rectangular room. Some doors stood on the sides of the room. A front desk was near the far end of the room by the statue of the woman with a computer and a typewriter. Dana noticed a man slouching in a rolling chair in front of the computer. He was not a zombie so she felt it was fine to go and see him. The others were too busy with their surroundings to notice.

She walked up to him and tried to smile, but could not. The man looked up at her with brown eyes. He was a middle-aged man, probably in his early 40's. He wore a bloody RPD uniform with no hat. His hair was a dark brown and his face had a cut on his right cheek. An almost invisible mustache crawled above his mouth.

"Oh, more survivors..." he started. "It's too late now. They left without us."

Dana looked confused.

"Who left without us?" she asked.

The man struggled to stand up and nearly lost his balance. Regardless of his bad posture, he was about as tall as Snake.

"The other survivors. They were evacuated by chopper and were dispatched to another city not far from here. I came too late. They left me here to die. I've been waiting for over 2 hours by myself. No one is coming. I can't even make radio contact with the outside. And those monsters..." An aggressive banging noise could be heard outside the building. "Now those things are trying to break in."

Dana took a cautious step back.

"So, no one's coming?" she asked sadly.

The officer shook his head.

"In 5 hours, the city will be blown apart by a government missile. Anyone caught in the blast will be killed instantly. There is no escaping it. I have no way of getting out of here..."

Dana turned to her friends who were already by the front doors blocking it with their bodies.

"They're trying to break in!" cried Samus, pushing her back up against the large doors. Link, John and Mike were by her side, holding the door in place with their arms and hands.

"We're doomed," muttered the cop.

There was nothing in the room that could be used to barricade the door.

"Damn, these things are strong!" John said looking over to Mike who was having trouble holding down the large double doors.

He looked over at Dana.

"Dana! Get out of here! There's no time!" cried the doctor.

Dana froze. Would this be the end? These people whom she just met would be killed in front of her own eyes. But she could not blame Mike. He made a promise

Groaning and grunting sounds came from behind the door.

"Dana, go! We'll handle this!" Link hollered back.

Dana nodded and made a run for the nearest door. She stopped in front of it and looked to the lonely officer.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked.

The cop sat back down in his seat.

"What's the point? It's only a matter of time before they break in anyway," he replied stubbornly.

Dana's heart sank. Could this really be the end? No, she's come too far to give up now, but she could not just leave this man to rot by his lonesome. She ran over and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, those guys can give us enough time to get out of here," he said, pulling him to his feet.

The officer frowned.

"But where would we go? We can't get out of here without a chopper," he replied seriously.

Suddenly, Dana had an idea.

"We do have a chopper," she said quickly.

The man's eyes widened a bit as he heard her words.

"Wait, really? No kidding?"

"Uh, yeah, well it's not really a chopper, but it does fly. It's over in the forest. If we can make it there, we can get out of the city."

The officer's face seemed to light up.

"What's your name, Miss?" he asked casually.

"Dana. Dana Komar."

The officer pulled out his handgun and reloaded it with what ammo he had left.

"Well Miss Komar, I'm James Papineau. Nice to meet you." Dana could not help but smile at how this man's mood had suddenly changed. He took a step towards the door. "Alright, let's go."

Both of them disappeared through the door. Mike turned around to see the spot where Dana had been standing empty.

"_Good, she's safe_," he thought.

Link had his back leaned against the heavy door.

"It's no use! They're breaking through!" he yelled.

Samus had to think quick. There must be something in the room they could use. If these things broke in, there would be no where in the building to run.

"Fall back!" she ordered without thinking.

She would eventually regret saying those words for the rest of her life.

All four of the survivors leapt back from the door and almost immediately the doors swung open and the undead mob was plowing into the room.

"Quickly! In here!" cried Samus, running for the door Dana and James went through.

"No! Dana went that way! We'll be leading them right to her!" replied Mike running for a door on the opposite side.

It was sad to see that their retreat was unorganized. Mike and Samus both went in completely different directions, leaving Link and John to wonder which direction to go. The mob of monsters split up, some heading for the doors, the others heading for the two lone survivors. After Samus and Mike disappeared through the opposite doors, Link and John stood back to back in front of the main desk as the mob approached them from all around.

"We're trapped!" cried John, pointing his weapon in different directions, scrambling to choose a target.

Link cursed and looked around for help. Unfortunately, there was no where to run and more zombies were still coming in through the front doors. Link reached for his hookshot and aimed it at the second floor balcony above his head.

"_Don't fail me now_," he thought and shot the hook at the metal railing.

"Hold on to me!" he shouted.

John holstered his gun and instinctively grabbed Link around the waist and the chain carried both of them to the second floor. They fell over each other when they hit the railing and both started panting on the floor. Link quickly stood up and looked over the edge. The zombies could not get up to where they were without taking a stairway. They then tried to break through the locked doors Samus and Mike went through.

"That won't hold them for long. They'll find a way up here," said Link to his older friend.

"Link! More of them!"

Link turned to see 3 zombies stumbling towards them.

"How did they get up here?" Link said pulling out his hookshot and blasting the head off of on.

"I don't know. They must have been here from the beginning," John replied.

Link finished off the other two and made a run for a nearby door.

"We have to get to the roof. Maybe we can signal for evac," he said, thinking.

John looked at the first floor with all the monsters.

"What about the others?" he asked.

Link grasped the doorknob.

"Samus is a strong girl; she'll be fine. I saw Dana with a cop so he should keep her out of harm's way. I'm not too sure about Mike, though."

John looked back at Link.

"I hope their okay..."

"Me too, John. Me too."

He opened the wooden door and they both went into the next room.

Dana and James made their way down an empty blue hallway. The zombies must not have come through here yet because everything smelled normal. James checked his chamber to see how much ammo he had. Eight bullets. Not bad, but that's all he had. He looked down at the girl walking next to him.

"So, Dana, what do you think our best plan of escape would be?" he asked casually.

Dana thought for a moment. If they could not go outside without getting mobbed, that left only one option.

"The roof?" she replied.

"Bingo. Unfortunately, I just started working for the RPD yesterday and I have no idea where the nearest stairway is."

Dana looked around the dark corridors.

"I...I'm not sure either."

James stuck his head around the corner to see if there were any monsters. Nope. They continued walking down the hallway. Closed windows lined the east wall, but it was too dark to see anything outside. He put his hand in front of Dana to halt her walk.

"Careful, something's not right in this hallway." Dana nodded and walked cautiously behind her companion. James held his handgun up high, ready to fire at the slightest movement. He stopped when he saw a headless man on the ground, blood seeping out of his neck where it had been severed. "Damn, Vince..." James made the sign of the cross over his fallen comrade. "Looks like I'm not the only rookie cop here."

Dana examined the body on the floor. A clear, viscous fluid could be seen dropping from the ceiling and landing on the body. She looked up in horror.

There on the ceiling was a monster she had never encountered in this nightmare. It looked like a human that had been turned inside out. It was a pink flesh colour and it's muscles could be seen straining to keep itself up. The top part of it's head looked like a giant brain and longer claws which it used to hold itself up were lined all over it's hands and feet. The creature opened it's sharp fangs to reveal a long tongue which had been dropping saliva on the dead body.

Dana screamed.

"James! Up there!"

James barely had time to react before the creature pounced on him from the ceiling. He dropped his gun into the pool of blood from the headless man.

"Ahh!" he cried, fighting back the creature's fangs with his bleeding hands. "Dana! Go! Save yourself!"

Dana did not move. She was tired of running away. Too many people have been hurt or killed just for her sake. She was sick of it. She picked up James' handgun and fired a round into the creature's brain at point-blank range. The recoil from the small weapon caused her to drop the weapon back on the messy floor. The creature howled in pain as blood started spraying out from its head. It jumped off of James and crawled fast towards the girl. James grabbed the creature in the back legs just as it was getting away.

"Get away from her!" he yelled at the monster.

Dana quickly scooped up the gun shaking and fired another shot into the creature's skull. It started howling again, confused as to which enemy it should kill first. James was losing his grip because of the creature's super-human strength. Dana fired one last bullet into the centre of the monster's face, making it keel over and fall on the floor. It twitched a few times before stopping. Blood seeped across the floor from the creature's head and Dana dropped her weapon on the floor again.

She began to cry.

James quickly stood up and came to her side.

"Hey, take it easy! You did good, Dana!" he said, attempting to comfort her.

Dana wouldn't stop crying.

"That was the first time I ever killed anything!" she confessed.

James helped her up.

"Don't worry! You saved my life! That thing had no right to live. You did what you had to do." She wiped the tears from her face with her bloody hands. James patted her on the back and picked up his handgun. "Let's go. The sooner we get to the roof, the sooner we can get out of here."

Dana nodded and began to take a step forward. Suddenly, a brown, rotting hand smashed through the window and started to pull her outside. She screamed again.

"James!" she cried, tears flooding her face.

James holstered his gun and grabbed Dana's arm. He pulled with all his might to get her back into the hall. He put his foot up against the wall to give him more leverage. After a powerful tug, the zombified hand finally let go and the two survivors fell onto the opposite wall.

They were panting.

"Man, that was-" he was interrupted when more hands started breaking through the glass, waving around in the air, trying to grab anything they could. Eventually, whole bodies of the undead started coming through.

"Come on!" cried James grabbing Dana's hand and running for the door.

Her legs were shaking but she fought back the pain. She could not see where she was going from all the tears in her eyes.

* * *

"Ah, strangah, those were the best fries I've ever eaten. Well, not as good as me mum's though."

"Yeah, I needed that. Let's go."

Leon and the merchant exited the coffee shop and looked up and down the barren street. All the zombies seemed to have moved on. They began running up the street again as they had done earlier.

"Strangah, I've been thinking. What exactly are you doing 'ere anyways?" asked the merchant as they trekked through the wasteland.

Leon glanced at his blue friend.

"What am _I _here? I should be asking you the same thing!" he replied.

The merchant was not moved.

"I already told you that I came here to make some cash, strangah. Now, what are you doing in a city infested with monsters?"

"_Should I tell this man my real objective? Can I even trust him?_" Leon thought. "_Well, I guess if he won't leave me alone, I might as well.._." Leon reached into his wallet and pulled out the picture of Claire.

"I'm looking for her," he said plainly.

The merchant eyed the photo with eagerness.

"The pretty lady? Oh, strangah, now _that's_a weapon!"

Leon was not amused by his comment.

"I could be wrong, but I have a feeling she's here in the city. I've got to get her out of here if it's the last thing I do."

The merchant just chuckled.

"Oh, I see how it is strangah..."

Leon put the photo away.

"What?" he asked obliviously.

"That lady's your girlfriend isn't she, strangah?"

Leon blushed slightly.

"What!? No! She's just an old friend!"

The merchant laughed it off.

"Then why do you carry her picture around, strangah?"

Leon paused before thinking up a lie.

"It's, uh, so I...don't forget what she looks like," he said quickly.

The merchant raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, strangah, you must be very forgetful."

"Um, yep. Sure am."

"I'm surprised you know how to use that weapon I gave you."

Leon frowned.

"Look, I'm not stupid, I'm just not very good with faces," he lied again.

"You remembered me, strangah."

"Yeah, well...you're pretty distinctive-looking."

"Ah, strangah, good point."

They passed by a dead cop, but Leon payed no attention to it; he just kept pressing forward through the destroyed city. The merchant, on the other hand, went over and began inspecting the body. Leon went further a few steps before noticing the merchant had stopped.

"Hey, what are you- Gah!"

The merchant had completely stripped the body of everything except for a pair of white boxers. The dirty blue man had a bunch of clothing and items in his hands.

"Heh, heh. Strangah."

"Hey, put those back! They don't belong to you!" cried Leon, running back to his travel companion.

"Well, he's not going to use these, strangah," replied the merchant cooly, gesturing toward the looted body. Leon rolled his eyes as the merchant began inspecting his newly-found items. "Now let's get down to business. What're ya buyin'?"

Leon's eyes went wide.

"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the shattered walls of the crumbled buildings.

"How much are ya willin' ta pay for this tactical vest, strangah?" asked the merchant, ignoring his comment completely.

"I'm not buying anything you stole off that man!"

"How about these one-of-a-kind RPD uniform pants? They're rare in these parts, strangah."

"No their not! Every cop in the city wears those!"

"Yeah, but these are in pretty good condition. Are ya sure you don't want 'em, strangah?"

"I'm out of here," said Leon frowning, quickly walking away from the man in blue.

"Wait, strangah! What about this black nightstick? I'm sure you could kill 100 zombies at once with this- hey, where ya goin'?"

Leon was ahead of the merchant by several meters. The merchant was encumbered by all his new merchandise, but he still tried his best to keep up with the fair-haired man.

"If you don't drop those things, I'm not letting you follow me anymore!" said Leon loudly without looking behind him.

The merchant gasped.

"Come on, strangah! How about this handgun? The chamber seems to be a bit busted, but I'm sure it works fine!" Leon stopped walking, causing the merchant to stop behind him. "Changed our minds, have we, strangah?"

"What are those things?" asked Leon, not even considering the merchant's question.

Up ahead in a clearing on the road, two green monsters were hunched over and pacing back and forth.

"_They seem familiar_..." Leon thought.

The creatures had long claws on their bulky forearms. Their legs looked really powerful and seemed to pack a lot of muscle. They did not seem to have a face, save for eyes and a mouth complete with a whole set of razor-sharp fangs. They were growling and sniffing, almost as if they were looking for something....

"Those things are in our way. We have to get rid of them," muttered Leon.

"I've got just the thing, strangah!" The merchant dropped all his new belongings and searched his coat for a weapon. After a few seconds, he pulled out a large semi-automatic rifle with a scope and handed it to his friend. "That gun's not just about shootin', it's about relo-"

"Yeah yeah, 'it's about reloading', I know," replied Leon, inspecting the weapon. The merchant chuckled. "Heh heh. Strangah, you know me too well!"

Leon grabbed the large weapon and took aim from his scope. He aimed right at the first creature's head and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed through the air and the creature collapsed, dead.

"Alright!"

"Nice shootin', strangah."

Leon looked through the scope again, but could not find the second creature; it had disappeared.

"Hey, where'd it go?"

He brought his head up from the gun to see a dark green figure jump 30 feet in the air and come down right toward him. Leon dropped his gun and dodged to the side, slamming his back on the cracked cement of the street. Incidentally, the creature missed him, but landed on the merchant instead.

"Help! Strangah!" cried the merchant, pushing the large monster off his body with his bandaged hands.

Leon acted fast. He gave a swift kick into the hide of the creature sending it flying trough the window of a drug store.

"You okay?" he asked.

The merchant pulled himself to his feet.

"Careful strangah, you'll hurt my merchandise!" he replied, checking the contents of his trench coat.

Leon looked to where he kicked the monster.

It emerged from the store and started galloping towards him. He pulled out his knife and ran towards it too. They dashed for each other in the middle of the torn street. The green monster leaped into the air with it's claws spread out wide. It came own and slashed at Leon. He dodged professionally with a backflip and threw his knife at the creature when it was open to attack. The knife landed right in its face and the creature shrieked in pain. Leon ran up to it, grabbed the knife, and kicked the creature square in the chest, launching it into bent stop sign. The creature had no time to recover as it soon found a combat knife lodged in its forehead. The monster sank its head down. Leon pulled out the knife a final time and wiped off the red blood on the bottom of his shoe.

"_Crazy...frog thing_," he thought, glancing at the body.

The merchant ran over to his side.

"Strangah, you left your weapon back there. Here."

Leon took the rifle graciously.

"Thanks." He swung the gun over his back and put the knife back in his holster. "This is getting ridiculous. What was that thing?"

"Not sure, strangah."

"Maybe it-" Leon was cut off by the groans of zombies approaching from the south. "Not again."

Leon and the merchant resumed their run.

The moon had risen straight up over the bleeding city below. Not even the sound of police sirens could be heard. Most of the city's civilians were either evacuated or turned into monsters. Roads lay torn up and burnt by nearby fires. In 5 hours, the city would be completely "sanitized" of all this evil. Hopefully no one would speak of this tragedy ever again.

An army truck sat over turned on the corner of a road. Dead bodies in green uniforms lay around it in puddles of blood. Among the wreckage, a group of zombies moved slowly up the road. The cry of a hunter motivated their search for more food. They did not stop for anything. Their only will to move on was the need for sustenance. They tripped over each other clumsily. Among the group, an undead man in a pair of white boxers led the way.

* * *

The old underground room was dimly lit. Two red torches glowed darkly on the far wall, both on either side of a large portrait of an old man in a purple robe. The single man in a dark blue robe stood in front of the picture, his hands at his sides. He stood there in silence, staring at the portrait as if it was the only thing left in the world. The man in the painting glared back, a look of determination in his eyes.

"Determination..." said the dark man in blue. "Yes, that was one trait that we all knew you possessed, was it not Saddler?" he asked.

Saddler continued to stare back from the portrait.

"_Indeed it was, my successor_," his voice replied. "_Drazn Orlow. My successor_."

Orlow nodded his head slightly.

"I have banded together the remaining Illuminados just as you ordered when you were alive. You warned us that if you were to pass on unexpectedly, I was to bring our men here to help spread Las Plagas around the nation."

"_I did_."

"But..." said Orlow, clenching his wrinkled fist. "We did not expect the United States of America to reply with such force. Kidnapping the President's daughter was a fool-proof plan. Until that secret agent came along..."

"_Yes, THAT agent. Mr. Kennedy_."

"Mr. Leon Scott Kennedy. Typical Amercian hero, heh heh. Isn't tat like those Americans to believe in their fantasies? Those dreams they have...Ha! If only they were aware of the power we possess! Even the President himself proves to be oblivious, even when the fate of the entire world is at hand."

"_Yes, typical Americans. Very good, Orlow_."

The man in the blue robe approached the painting and gently brushed his hand on it.

"Lord Saddler," he said, "forgive me for not believing that your plan would work..."

"_Think nothing of it, my successor_."

"But even with the extermination of the Gannados in Europe, we still thrive in some very minute parts of the world. The majority of my men have been dispatched to Raccoon City, USA and Kijiju, Africa."

"_World domination was never my intention in the beginning_."

"I know, my lord. You wanted to overthrow the United States and their abuse of power. However, it is because of that traitor Luis Sera that we are not where we dreamed to be. Not even Krauser nor Salazar proved any help in our plan."

"_Our plan...My plan...it had nothing to do with world domination_."

"Umbrella came to us. They came and they stole our virus. Las Plagas. They now possess the key to our plan. But not for long."

"_Do tell_."

Orlow backed away from the painting.

"My lord, we now have a purified sample of the T-Virus ready to use and clone at our disposal. We can all thank Umbrella for being so careless in covering the evidence ten years ago."

"_Tell me, Orlow, how did you manage?_"

"We captured a live Tyrant wandering the Arklay Mountains several years ago. And since we have had it, it has proven very useful to our research. We have enough power to overthrow the entire North American continent!" announced the man in blue, lifting his arms up high into the air.

There was a pause.

"_Very good, Orlow_," replied Saddler. "_You have been a very valuable asset to this community. The Los Illuminados thanks you_."

Orlow lowered his arms and smirked.

"I thank you, my lord. I was but a lowly monk before I came to join your side. You have given me what no man has ever given before, and that is...power beyond all measure."

"_Power may be abused_."

"Power needs no master. It deserves none. For when all the madness on the surface has ceased, I will take over. And the power circulating through my veins with finally be unleashed. I thank you, my lord. I thank you."

"_Heh heh. Just make sure Mr. Kennedy doesn't get in the way this time_."

"Oh, don't worry, sir. I already thought about Mr. Kennedy. There is someone here who I'm sure he's dying to meet."


End file.
